The number of positive cases for Covid-19 continues to increase. But Arnaud Fontanet wants to be reassuring this Monday, January 3, on the set of C to you. According to him, it could be that the fifth wave is the last.
Winter has taken hold in France and the number of people affected by Covid-19 continues to increase. Since the start of the health crisis in March 2020, the number of daily contaminations has never been so high. On Friday, December 31, 232,200 French people tested positive. Impressive figures which can be explained by the presence of the Omicron variant, very contagious since its arrival on the territory. In the JDD published on Sunday January 2, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran wants to be reassuring and explains that this fifth wave will perhaps be “the last“. On the set of C to you this Monday, January 3, 2022, the epidemiologist Arnaud Fontanet confirms the words of the neurologist.
Will the fifth wave be the last?
The government continues to encourage the French to be vaccinated to protect themselves against the virus, but also to protect others. While the time between the second and third dose of the vaccine has gradually increased from 6 to 4 months, Arnaud Fontanet says this is the only way everyone can get back to normal life. “As either vaccine booster doses or natural infections accumulate, we strengthen our immunity against severe forms“, he explains. As a result, the more the population will be vaccinated, the more we will be faced with “minor forms of the disease“. This is exactly what happens with other seasonal illnesses:”And for some fragile people, we will give them a booster dose, probably in the fall before the winter season.“. Thus, the epidemiologist wants to be confident. This wave could be the last with severe forms: “We can hope so.“
Arnaud Fontanet asks the population to reduce contact
But beyond vaccination, it is also a question of having reasoned behavior. “If we reduce our contacts by 20%, we will halve the number of patients who will arrive at the hospital in mid-January.“, says Arnaud Fontanet of France 5. Without imposing a lockdown or curfew, the French should decide for themselves to limit gatherings since Omicron is an extremely contagious variant. “We are really going to have to be able ourselves to say: ‘Good bah the festive event that we had planned for next weekend, we give up’ “, he continues.