France’s Health Minister Oliver Veran confirmed there was so far no sign that the COVID-19 was regaining impetus. However, the top health official warned that it was too early to assess the impact of relaxing quarantine measures.
Over the second week of eased coronavirus restrictions, the French health authorities have not reported the rising number of the novel pathogen cases. The health minister said Wednesday, there is no sign yet that the country’s easing of a lockdown to combat the coronavirus has boosted the epidemic. In contrary, the latest figures showed daily deaths trending lower.
Since May 11th, France is living almost pre-virus life. The government has eased its almost two-month lockdown in a bid to revive an economy killed by the epidemic.
“It takes at least 10 to 15 days for us to know if there is an impact on the epidemic,” Mr Veran told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.
Commenting on the current epidemiological situation across France, the health minister noted that the numbers in hospitals and intensive care were continuing to fall. “So we are not seeing a resurgence in the circulation of the virus, but that does not mean that the virus is not circulating,” he added.
Adding to the cautious message as many in France prepare for a long weekend to mark Ascension, President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter: “The epidemic is not behind us. We will not slow down in our efforts.”
Actually, the latest health ministry figures, 110 more deaths were recorded over the last 24 hours in hospitals and nursing homes, lifting France’s total death toll from the epidemic to 28,132.
So far, the total number of people in intensive care — a number that soared to over 7,000 at the peak of the crisis — fell to 1,794, down 100 from the previous day.
