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The circulation of coronavirus in France is “increasing,” according to the Ministry of Health, with at least 400 active “clusters” of the virus reported across the country.
“This is reflected in an increase in the number of calls to SOS doctors, visits to the emergency room, the number of clusters and hospitalizations,” the French health ministry said Monday in a statement.
“This moderate increase is due to the fact that a very insufficient proportion of patients with symptoms carry out a virological test and isolate themselves,” the statement added.
Speaking during a televised interview on Monday, French Health Minister Olivier Veran said that there are concerns of a possible resurgence in the national health crisis, but affirmed that the country is “very far” from a second wave.
“There are worrying signs of an epidemic resumption on national territory,” Veran said, adding that there have been “between 400 and 500 clusters” of coronavirus cases reported across the country, including the district of Mayenne, which he visited on Monday.
“We are on an increasing slope in the circulation of the virus, even if we start from low contamination rates,” Veran said.
“We are very far from the [second] wave,” he added.
According to Veran, the national reproduction rate of the virus is now “more than one,” meaning infection rates are likely to increase again following months of decline as a result of social distancing and confinement measures.
As of Monday, a total of 176,754 coronavirus cases have been confirmed across France, with 30,177 deaths since the beginning of the outbreak.
At least 6,589 patients remain hospitalized with coronavirus, including 467 patients in intensive care.
