“the decrease in contamination by the Omicron variant has started in Île-de-France”

The epidemiologist of the Institut Pasteur and member of the Scientific Council, Arnaud Fontanet announced the decline in contamination of the Omicron variant in the Ile-de-France region. Today the incidence rates are starting to drop slightly in almost all the departments of the region.

Contaminations by the Omicron variant are down in the Ile-de-France region according to Professor Arnaud Fontanet. With our colleagues from France Inter, the epidemiologist, from Institut Pasteur and member of the Scientific Council a indicates that “the peak of infections was passed last week for the Île-de-France region“. It also indicates that this peak passage heralds a similar scenario for other regions in the coming weeks. The specialist predicts a considerable decline in contamination in the month of February “to reach very low levels in March“.

According to figures from CovidTrackerall departments in the Ile-de-France region, with the exception of Val d’Oise have an incidence rate lower than 4,000, a threshold they had all exceeded in early January. As a reminder, the incidence rate corresponds to the number of cases recorded per 100,000 inhabitants.

Nevertheless, hospital tension remains high in several departments of the region. In Seine-Saint-Denis, intensive care beds are 93% occupied. Arnaud Fontanet foresees as such that during the month of February “hospitals will still be very busy”. Finally, concerning the question of immunity, he recalled that this was reinforced by vaccination or by infection with a variant.

The coming weeks will still be difficult for hospital staff, believes Fréderic Adnet, head of the emergency department at Avicenne Hospital in Bobigny, the decline in COVID cases will “just allow beds to be reopened for other patients who had been deprogrammed and therefore to catch up“.

–