Covid-19: is a resumption of the epidemic possible?

With the seventh wave of coronavirus behind us, the start of the school year and the arrival of autumn could be a cocktail for a strong epidemic recovery.

No more holidays. No more Covid-19’s seventh wave.

How about the eighth wave? “The most likely scenario is that of a peak epidemic at the start of the New Year,” said Brigitte Autran, immunologist and chair of the Health Risk Monitoring and Anticipation Committee, the successor to the Scientific Council.

Will it be due to a new variant or the return of the cold? We are not diviners, but there is almost certain to be a wave in the fall.”

So, what sauce could the coronavirus eat for us this fall? What variants are likely to generate new waves? And what vaccines and tools do we have to prevent them? 20 Minutes is back on the virus.

Mini-health protocol in schools, maxi-problematic of indoor air quality

For this new school year, the government has planned a protocol at the “base” level, the lowest in the new health framework.

It provides that pupils are welcomed in the presence, in primary school, middle school and high school, without wearing masks. Physical and sporting activities will be permitted indoors and outdoors without restriction.

And there are no restrictions on mixing between groups of students.

Compliance with barrier procedures, such as hand washing and ventilation, is still recommended. Sufficient recommendations? “Back to school is a special time that must be monitored,” says Professor Bruno Lina, virologist and director of the National Influenza Reference Center for southern France.

In terms of timing, based on the experience of the two previous autumn, this period, which corresponds to the resumption of school and work, a population mix, a cooling of temperatures and a decline in outdoor activities, forms the cocktail for a strong epidemic recovery.’