Under the pressure of the British variant of the virus, Dunkirk in northern France has seen an outbreak of coronavirus Covid-19. Local confirmed cases are on average three times higher than in the rest of France, and young patients are predominant. Local hospitals are under pressure.
According to AFP, the incidence of coronavirus in Dunkirk is three times higher than the average for the whole of France. In one week, there were 600 confirmed infections per 100,000 people there, compared to an average of 190 confirmed cases per 100,000 people in other regions.
According to the French newspaper Le Monde, Dunkirk is under particular pressure from the British variant of the virus. The British variant of the “B.1.1.7” virus is estimated to account for 72% of all infections in Dunkirk. Hospitals are seeing large numbers of patients, many of them young.
The Dunkirk Convention Center was urgently transformed on Thursday, February 18, into a testing center for the coronavirus Covid-19. Long lines formed outside the Convention Center, a stone’s throw from the beach. Retired Jean-François Dehaene arrived 45 minutes before the doors opened and was first in line. He, like many Dunkirkites who came to have their antigen tested, first wanted to “reassure himself” because of the outbreak that has occurred in the last two weeks in this part of the world.
Meanwhile, French health Minister Olivier Véran announced Thursday that starting next Monday, France will extend the quarantine period for people infected with coronavirus Covid-19 from seven to 10 days to address the risks posed by the more contagious variant.
He insisted during his weekly review. With nearly 20,000 new confirmed cases per day nationwide in the past week, hospitals remain under pressure (more than 3,300 patients in intensive care) as the variant continues to develop. He warned that if “vigilance is relaxed now, there is a risk of even stronger restrictions in the near future.”
The health minister said that “36% of the positive cases screened were for the British variant and 5% for the South African or Brazilian variants. These variants were unevenly distributed, peaking at one point in Moselle (the South African variant) in the east, but the situation has improved, with the British variant accounting for 72% of cases in Dunkirk in the north.
In terms of vaccination, 2.4 million people have had their first dose since vaccination began in France at the end of December.
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