The return of Covid is confirmed in France, at a level that has been moderate so far

In hospitals and doctors' offices, the return of Covid is confirmed in France, but the virus is circulating at a moderate level so far, according to new data from Public Health France, released on Wednesday.

Across all age groups, the use of care related to respiratory pathologies continued to rise during the week of September 22-28, as seen in the activity of hospital and community medicine surveillance networks.

In emergency departments, there has been an increase in visits for suspected Covid-19 infection, "in numbers comparable to the previous year, among those aged 75 and over (+24%, i.e. +30 visits)", indicates the weekly report of the Oscour network.

At SOS Médecins, the incidence of Covid-19 cases among patients consulting for acute respiratory infection "was stable compared to the previous week but remained at a moderate level of activity."

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Overall, 2,628 Covid-related procedures were recorded, representing a weekly increase of 15.71 per 100,000. Among adults, procedures for suspected COVID-19 infection increased by 161 per 100,000 in one week (+313 procedures) and among 2-14 year olds by 171 per 100,000 (+66), levels "comparable to previous years" in both cases.

Currently, it is a variant called XFG, a new avatar of the large Omicron family, that dominates in Europe or the United States in the circulation of the Sars-CoV-2 virus.

This recombination of two previous variants (LF.7 and LP.8.1.2) has been "under surveillance" by the World Health Organization (WHO) since the end of June, particularly for its perceived higher contagiousness.

But, at this stage, it has not demonstrated any increased severity compared to previous versions of Omicron, according to specialists, and nothing that would justify its nickname of "Frankenstein", relayed mainly on social networks in reference to the monster imagined by the novelist Mary Shelley.

Still considered protective against severe forms and the risk of long Covid, vaccination remains recommended, particularly for those most at risk.

The autumn-winter campaign, targeting the elderly and most vulnerable, is due to start on October 14 in France and last until the end of January 2026.

In Europe, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has also observed in recent weeks "increasing circulation of SARS-CoV-2, but with a limited impact on hospitalizations" at this stage.