Covid-19 France: What is the situation in my department?
The east of the country has been the most affected in recent weeks
The average number of daily recorded cases of Covid-19 in France has been hovering around the 15,000 mark for the past few weeks, with the most affected departments in the east of the country.
Health Minister Olivier Véran described the situation as “unstable”, not under control, and said that the pressure on the health system remains “too high”.
The minister has raised the possibility of extending curfew measures from 20:00-06:00 to 18:00-06:00 in the eastern regions of the country where case numbers are particularly high.
No lockdown but new curfew, and rules remain
CovidTracker, a French data gathering website, offers graphics and information to chart the progression of the virus in the country. The information on the site is based on data provided by Santé Publique France and the INSEE (Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques).
Its map of departmental cases shows how France is split almost down the middle in terms of affected departments.
The below map shows the incidence rate - how many out of 100,000 people test positive for Covid-19 - in the past week in each department.
The national incidence rate is 122.9. This map shows the eastern departments have a rate far higher than this.
For example, Alpes-Maritimes has a rate of 297 and Ardennes has a rate of 281.
In terms of the rate of positive tests, this is the percentage of test results that show a positive case, the east is also generally more affected but there are some departments in the north- and southwest with high rates too.
The map below shows that Hautes-Pyrénées’ test positivity percentage is 5.6% and Lot-et-Garonne’s rate is 4.2%.
These are both higher than the national average of 2.9%.
In terms of the number of people per 100,000 hospitalised due to Covid-19 in each department, the east of the country is again the worst affected.
The Territoire de Belfort has the highest rate of 48.04, followed by Jura with a rate of 38.83.
France recorded an average of 261 Covid-19 related deaths per day between December 24 to December 30.
The departments with the highest number of deaths per 100,000 people are Jura, Meuse and the Territoire de Belfort, all in the east of the country.
To see more details of the Covid-19 situation in your department, you can visit the CovidTracker website here or follow CovidTracker on Twitter here.
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