Did Emmanuel Macron make the right measures in March to curb Covid contamination toll? Whether you are for or against the government’s health policy, the INSERM issued in a study published this Wednesday April 21, 2021 a report stating departments where strengthened measures have been instated since March 20 are starting to pay off as the health situation is improving.
But, departments that implemented strengthened measures only on April 6 are still on an epidemic plateau – the study finds: “results show for departments anticipating the implementation of restrictions the number of hospitalizations and cases in ICU is decreasing, as it is stabilizing on a plateau for other departments”.
Another – but negative – assessment is raised and quite logic: epidemiologists think measures have been made too late by the government, and if they would have been made in early March, it would have been possible to curb the virus enough to hope lifting lockdown in a safer way.
The study analyzed the evolution of the positive test rate, the evolution of hospitalizations and ICU cases department by department. Data scientists then compared depending on departments instating strengthened measures on March 20 and those from April 6. And results are crystal clear: departments that instated measures in March show a decrease in hospitalizations and deaths, and in the incidence rate despite a fluctuation in tests taken in Easter.
Results also show the epidemic is only starting to stabilize in most departments. Weeks to come and complying with measures during this period are crucial for the evolution of the epidemic in the country.
