Circulation of Covid-19 ‘weak’ in France

Geneviève Chêne said in an interview on France 2: “The coronavirus is still there but its circulation is weak. The indicators are favourable.”

“All new epidemic clusters are being treated as soon as possible. Screening, tracing and isolating are essential to stop the spreading of the virus as soon as possible.”

However, she asked everyone to remain vigilant. She said: “Everyone must continue to apply barrier gestures.”

“It is the first time we have had to treat this virus. We don’t know its history. Many people can be infected without showing symptoms. We must remain careful and keep the pressure on hospitals low.”

She also said that it was too early to assess the effect of deconfinement.

“We cannot know how many people have had Covid-19 as we would need to test everyone.”

However Mrs Chêne said there is an estimation of around four or five million people in France who “have been in contact with the virus and infected.”

She added: “An extremely difficult period has passed and it's up to all of us to make sure that the worst is behind us and I'm quite confident”.