The epidemic recovery of the Covid in Côte-d’Or is confirmed, all the indicators are on the rise. Should we be worried about it? Who is most affected? Should I put the mask back on? We are this Monday, September 26 with Aline Guibelin, departmental delegate of the Regional Health Agency in Côte-d’Or.
What is the situation in Côte-d’Or as we speak? Is the number of contaminations also on the rise in our country?
Aline Guibelin : Yes, we are on a momentum that is not extremely positive. We are at the beginning of this eighth wave. This means that there are more and more people who have Covid, that is, what is called the incidence rate which has almost doubled in ten days. And then there’s the positivity rate too. When I do a test, what percentage of people have a positive result? We are at almost 25% currently, especially among the youngest, we can see it with the start of the university and school year. The virus is therefore circulating actively and we are in a phase of propagation, at the start of a new wave.
Does this mean that the people hospitalized are the elderly? Are they the first affected by this virus?
They will be soon. Today, we are lucky not to have an impact on hospitals and clinics yet. Above all, we have a virus that is among the youngest, with fewer associated pathologies. Seniors will be impacted a little later, by their grandchildren, during the All Saints holidays. We know that mathematically, we will have people who will end up in hospital because we always have serious cases, but today, we will say that the hospital remains preserved. On the other hand, we have the possibility of managing this non-appearance in the emergency room, in hospitals, in Covid services, and this is what is called prevention.
We are caught in the double squeeze of the start of the school year, and then the return of autumn. So we are more inside. Is that what’s creating this new wave?
Yes too. Because you know the barrier gestures, we repeat them at will. You have to keep washing your hands. We must continue to put on the mask when we are faced with fragile people, it is important. If you visit someone, your grandparents or people who are immunocompromised, concretely, you have to wear a mask to protect them from what you are likely to give them in terms of illness, Covid or bronchitis, for real say. But we can also work on ventilation and it’s a little more complicated, I’m aware, with the arrival of autumn and cooler temperatures. You have to open the windows, you have to wear the mask when you have fragile people, but also in closed spaces, so in public transport, it’s still a good thing. We must also continue to test ourselves when we are symptomatic.
Can we speak of a really strong epidemic recovery?
It’s complicated to have a predictive vision. But at this stage, we are on the start of an increase which is strong, which is exponential. I don’t know if we’ll go as high as the last time, when we went up to 1100 angle of attack, that’s a lot. There, we are at 400. It can go very quickly, in a week we can be at 900. So we don’t know exactly where we’re going, like every time, and that’s why we have to try to be individually responsible for trying to limit all that. We are still on Omicron and its variants, BA.1 and BA.5. We are starting to have vaccines called “bivalent”, which are adapted to these sub-variants. If you are over 60, if you are a pregnant woman, if you are a healthcare professional, if you are close to an immunocompromised person or if you are immunocompromised yourself, go for this vaccine booster . Today only 30% of the population has done so over the age of 60. We can see that there is still an important step to take. I remind you that the vaccine is effective against serious forms and that’s what we want, to avoid having a heavy Covid that takes you to the hospital for long weeks.
Do you have to put the mask back on public transport when you go for a walk in town? Is this something you encourage?
Yes, we are really on a recommendation to wear a mask. Afterwards, we can have a different vision. If you go for a hike or a stroll in the city center outside, it’s not the same conditions as if you’re at the cinema, in an enclosed space. The mask is really an effective, safe and simple means.