Health professionals expected this upsurge at the start of the school year. The number of Covid-19 cases is on the rise. The epidemic seems to be starting once more. The virus is circulating more, which is logical with the arrival of autumn. For the moment, this does not worry health professionals too much. Hospitals are not overcrowded.
Despite everything, the government announced on Tuesday the opening of a vaccination campaign from Monday, October 3 with the arrival of new vaccines once morest the original strain and the Omicron variant.
This campaign is aimed at “frail people, over 60s, health professionals and people who are in contact with fragile people”, said François Braun, the Minister of Health this Tuesday on franceinfo. The general population is not concerned. But everyone is free to receive or not this fourth booster dose.
Resurgence of contamination
How does the virus circulate in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais? If the incidence rate reaches 354 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in France, it is higher in our region. We count 387 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the Northaccording to figures from Public Health France as of September 27, 2022.
The incidence rate achieved 396 cases in Pas-de-Calais. As the curves below show, we are far from the peak of the epidemic in January 2022, a consequence of the Omicron variant.
In Hauts-de-France, the Somme which is the most affected department with an incidence rate of 494 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Aisne is not far behind with 490 cases. The Oise has 366 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
The hospital spared in the immediate future
In hospitals, we do not feel the epidemic recovery for the moment. No service is saturated in the region due to Covid-19. There is always a lag between the increase in contamination and its effects in terms of hospitalization.
In the north, 554 people are hospitalized for a Covid-19 on Tuesday September 27, 2022, according to figures from Public Health France. 39 patients are in critical care.
In Pas-de-Calais, there are 157 hospitalizations following contamination. 16 patients are hospitalized in an intensive care unit.
Despite the upsurge in contamination, no restrictive health measures are envisaged by the government. There is no obligation to wear the mask. But the Minister of Health François Braun invites us to use common sense: “When we are on top of each other, it is more reasonable to put on our mask. When we are with a very fragile person, we put on our mask”.