‘Everything points to France having passed the peak of the Covid-19 epidemic’, says health minister

France looks to have passed the peak of the Covid-19 epidemic, Minister of Health Olivier Véran said on Sunday, pointing to the falling rate of new infections under the country’s second coronavirus lockdown.

“Thanks to the lockdown, just like back in March, the virus has started to circulate less. For 10 consecutive days now, the number of new Covid-19 cases, positive test rates and incident rates are decreasing. Everything leads us to believe that we have passed the peak of the epidemic,” the minister told regional newspaper group Ebra over the weekend.

“We’re regaining control over the epidemic, this is good news,” he added.

“But we have not yet conquered the virus,” Véran warned. “Clearly, it is too early to claim victory and relax our efforts.”

France on Sunday recorded 27,228 new Covid-19 cases and 302 deaths over 24 hours, according to health ministry data. The number of Covid-19 patients admitted into intensive care, however, fell to 270 from around 450 every day over the previous week – the lowest recorded figure in the past three weeks.

France 24