Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

HEALTH

Lyon and Nice set for tighter restrictions as French warned about family gatherings

Local authorities in Nice and Lyon must toughen rules in their cities to limit the spread of Covid-19, France's health minister said on Thursday as he warned that "the epidemic was once again very active across the country".

Published: 17 September 2020 17:25 CEST
Lyon and Nice set for tighter restrictions as French warned about family gatherings
French Health Minister Olivier Véran on Thursday laid out the government's strategy to fight the spread of Covid-19 in a televised speech to the nation. Photo: AFP

Olivier Véran said the government had asked local authorities in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) and Lyon (Rhône) to “take steps” to halt the spiralling Covid-19 rates in the two cities.

“For several weeks, we have seen the virus accelerate its circulation,” Véran said during the first of what was to be a weekly press conference by the health minister to update the country on the latest situation.

“The epidemic is once again very active in France,” he said.

The government last week asked the same of local authorities in Marseille and Bordeaux, where local authorities soon announced measures to restrict bar opening hours and limit the number of people allowed to gather in public. 

Local authorities in charge of the départements around Nice and Lyon will announce similar measures “by Saturday,” the health minister said.

“If the situation doesn't improve (in Marseille).. even stricter measures will without doubt need to be taken,” Véran said.

READ ALSO: Where are Covid-19 rates rising in France?

Authorities in Marseille have been concerned about the rapidly rising hospital numbers, with hospitals this week reporting that their intensive care units were filling up. This is the first time this has happened in France since the first wave of infections in March and April.

Unless swift action was taken, Véran said Lyon and Nice soon could find themselves in the same precarious situation.

In both cities, Covid-19 had reached a level of spread above the government's set threshold of alert.

Lyon on Thursday had an infection rate of 200, meaning that the city over the past seven days had registered 200 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Any area registering an infection rate of above 50 cases is considered an area of “elevated” concern  by health authorities.

In Nice, the number was was 150.

Véran said authorities were especially worried about the incidence rate among the elderly in the two cities.

“Protecting the elderly and vulnerable remains a pillar in our strategy to fight the virus,” the health minister said.

“In Lille, Toulouse, Rennes and Paris, the (incidence number).. has passed the alert threshold,” Véran said.

However Véran said these areas were not seeing the same pressure on hospitals and level of spread among the elderly. 

“We will be extremely attentive to the development in these cities,” he said, stressing that the situation could quickly deteriorate and that the government might have to ask local authorities in these areas as well to take similar measures to stem the spread.
 

Véran said local authorities had to strike a balance between acting “neither too early.. nor to late” when it came to taking extra measures to limit daily life.

If taken too early, the rules “would not necessarily be accepted by the French,” he said.

But taken them to late could have fatal consequences “due to the 15 days of delay of impact on hospitalisations.”

He asked French to be cautious and keep complying with health rules such as face-masks, rigorous handwashing and limit social gatherings.

“The figures no longer leave any doubt: Family gatherings, friendly, are massive sources of contamination,” he said.

“Each and every one one of us, plays a key role in the fight against the virus.”

“But we have to learn to live with the virus. We must preserve our social, economic, cultural and civic life. Every day, we are becoming more effective against Covid 19.”
 
The minister also encouraged parents to send their children to school even when they had a cold but no fever.
 
Classes would not be closed if there was just one infected case, but children would be forced to stay hole if there was a “chain of infection” in the class, he said.
 
He declared a shift in the country's testing strategy and said “priority groups would get priority.”

He added that there was “no point in getting tested too often.”

“The test is not a health measure, it must be done if you have any doubts or if you have been confirmed as a contact case,” he said.

A person was a contact case if they had spent time with a Covid-19 positive case and were alerted either by that person or by regional health authorities.

Anyone further out in the contact chain did not need to get tested, he said.

“Contact cases of contact cases are not contact cases,” he said.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

HEALTH

How serious is the threat from dengue fever in France?

As tiger mosquitoes are now present in over 80 percent of mainland France, health authorities are worried that local transmission of tropical diseases, like dengue fever, will increase.

Published: 14 June 2024 15:15 CEST
How serious is the threat from dengue fever in France?

As of January 2024, tiger mosquitoes – known for their ability to carry diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus – had been detected in 78 of France’s 96 mainland départements, including the Paris region.

This has left public health authorities concerned about the spread of dengue fever in France, particularly this summer as large crowds are expected amid the Olympic Games.

READ MORE: MAP: Tiger mosquitoes reach northern France

How common is dengue fever in France?

In the first four months of 2024, 1,679 cases of dengue fever were identified in mainland France, a number that is 13 times higher than the same period last year, Le Parisien reported.

Crucially, however, none of these are believed to have been contracted in mainland France – they were all reported among patients who had recently travelled from the tropical regions where dengue fever is common.

The majority of cases were from people who had visited the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe – where the disease is endemic.

These islands are for administrative purposes part of France – so often show up in French health data – but they are roughly 7,000km away from Paris.

So far, there have not been any indigenous cases (autochtone – or people infected on mainland French soil) yet this year.

Local transmission of the disease remains relatively rare. In 2023, nine separate outbreaks of indigenous dengue transmission were identified, one of which occurred in the Paris region. These led to 45 cases of local transmission (in mainland France).

Most were in southern France – in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Occitanie and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions – though one outbreak occurred in the Paris region, according to French public health authorities.

This is less than 2022, which was a notable year with 66 total cases of indigenous dengue fever were recorded. In comparison, between 2010 and 2021, only 48 cases (total) were recorded.

What to expect for 2024

Experts believe that the number of cases in France, including indigenous ones, will grow this year, as tiger mosquitoes now occupy more territory in mainland France.

On top of that, the number of cases has increased significantly in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“What we see in France is a mirror image of what is happening in the French Caribbean, and more widely in Latin America and the rest of the Caribbean, where dengue fever has been circulating since the start of the year at unprecedented levels”, the head of Santé Publique France, Dr Caroline Semaille, said during a press conference.

The Olympic Games will also bring an influx of tourists from all over the world, and weather conditions are expected to be conducive to mosquitoes – a year with a lot of rainfall, and potentially high temperatures. 

What is dengue fever?

The disease is spread to people from bites by infected mosquitoes.

The most common symptoms are high fever, chills, abdominal, joint and muscle pains, and vomiting. It can also cause a skin rash that resembles measles, according to France’s Institut Pasteur.

Symptoms usually begin three to 14 days (with an average of four to seven) after being bitten.

However people are asymptomatic in 50 to 90 percent of cases (depending on the epidemic), which can make monitoring difficult.

At-risk groups include the immunocompromised, children and the elderly, who are more likely to suffer from severe forms of the disease.

Deaths from the disease are very rare, occurring in around 0.01 percent of all cases, almost all in countries that have poor healthcare systems.

How can I avoid tiger mosquitoes?

Female tiger mosquitoes lay their eggs in water, and they can lay several hundred eggs at once. Therefore try to avoid having any standing water outside your home and be aware of the items that might collect rainwater.

This includes regularly emptying vases, flower pots, as well as watering cans and pots. If you want to collect rainwater, you could cover water butts with mosquito nets or fabric to keep the mosquitoes from getting inside.

READ ALSO 5 plants that (allegedly) repel mosquitoes

You can also keep your gutters clean – this helps to keep the water flowing when it rains, and it avoids any stagnant pools from building up.

To protect yourself, try to wear long, loose and light-coloured clothing, in addition to insect repellent. You might also consider wearing a mosquito net head gear.

The main difference between tiger mosquitoes and other species would be getting a bite during the day, and the fact that tiger mosquitoes are likely to bite several times. You can tell for sure if it was a tiger mosquito by seeing the insect itself. They are also silent.

There is no immediate cause for alarm if you are bitten, in almost all cases the bites are just itchy and annoying. In very rare cases, tropical diseases can be spread by the mosquitoes – seek medical help if you develop a high fever and rash.

READ MORE: How to prevent the spread of tiger mosquitoes in France

What do tiger mosquitoes look like?

They are very small, about 5 mm, and they have a highly contrasting colour, with black and white stripes on their body and legs.

If you believe you have spotted a tiger mosquito, you can report it to public health authorities online.

SHOW COMMENTS