While children and teachers have been very affected by the Covid-19 epidemic since the start of the school year, the virologist, member of the Scientific Council, explains that the Omicron variant is easier to transmit, including from children who were “less sensitive “so far.
While the start of the school year is marked by a record number of class closures, the Covid-19 epidemic is spreading from establishments to homes, due to the highly contagious Omicron variant.
“At school as in other places, this virus behaves differently because it is more transmissible”, explains Bruno Lina, virologist and member of the Scientific Council, guest of BFMTV this Friday.
“You need less virus to develop the disease. Under these conditions, people who were probably less susceptible to the virus, such as children today, become able to be affected very effectively,” the virologist, member of the Scientific Council.
Children are “affected very effectively”
Since Monday, 47,453 cases of contamination of students have been declared over four days, according to figures from the Ministry of National Education given Thursday. The record was reached among teachers, with 5,631 positive cases declared.
“Children, like many of the age group under 40, participate in a very important way in the spread of the virus (…) we see it because there is transmission between children and parents, and sometimes , foci of transmission in schools, “added Bruno Lina.
“It is about 80% more transmissible”, he detailed about the Omicron variant, recalling that it manages to bypass the immune responses of those who have an incomplete vaccination schedule, and that the more it spreads, the more its infectivity rate is increasing. “Despite this increased transmissibility, all hygiene measures are effective”, insisted Bruno Lina.
Thursday, the incidence rate exceeded 2000 in France for the first time. In all, one in 50 people has tested positive in the past seven days.