Covid-19: the departments where the intensive care units are filling up

France is facing a seventh wave of Covid-19. Since the end of May 2022, the epidemic figures have gradually started to rise again to reach 71,144 new cases per day on average as of June 30, 2022. A number up 53% compared to the previous week, indicates Covid Tracker.

The cause of this epidemic rebound is well identified since it is the progression of a new sub-variant of Omicron: BA.5. “This variant is not more severe than the others, but it is very transmissible”, testifies Jean-François Delfraissy, president of the Scientific Council at the microphone of RTL this Thursday, June 30, 2022.

For the time being, this scenario of a resumption of the epidemic at the dawn of the summer holidays does not worry the health authorities: “Last year, we had the first wave of the Delta variant in the summer. A first peak occurred at the end of July, before a second peak at the end of October, beginning of November. We expect the same thing for BA.5,” says Jean-François Delfraissy.

Thanks to vaccination, it is no longer the high infection that should be monitored, “but the impact it can have on the healthcare system”, specifies the president of the Scientific Council.

In the slideshow below, find the departments that are seeing their intensive care units fill up again with Covid-19 patients.

“Vaccination remains the most useful weapon” to fight against the epidemic, recalls the Minister of Health, Brigitte Bourguignon. This new wave should therefore “not spoil our summer because we are mostly vaccinated”, believes Jean-François Delfraissy.

This is why he invites all people eligible for a fourth dose to be vaccinated: “You must be vaccinated with the 4th dose if you are over 60, or have risk factors. These vaccines are safe and effective against BA.5”.

This desire to revitalize the vaccination campaign is also an objective of the government. During a trip to the field in Paris on June 23, 2022, Brigitte Bourguignon launched “a call for this vaccination which must be maintained, supported”, reports Le Parisien.

To encourage vaccination, anyone eligible for a second booster dose who has not yet taken it should receive a letter from the government in the coming days.