With more than 3 million PCR and antigen tests validated between June 27 and July 3 against just over 2.1 million the previous week, the statistics department (Drees) observes in a press release «a sharp increase».
Falling to just over a million at the end of May, the number of tests has continued to rise since then, a little more markedly each week. If the number of tests is on the rise “for all age groups” (41%), it is even more marked among 16-25 year olds (58%).
This increase in tests follows the strong rebound in the epidemic at the start of the summer, driven by sub-variants of Omicron. More than 154,600 new cases were recorded Wednesday evening by Public Health France, 45% more than a week earlier and at the highest level since the end of April.
«The epidemic is starting again. So I call on everyone to be vigilant. (…) When you are in closed spaces, where there are a lot of people, you have to wear a mask, especially in transport», but «We do not intend to have a national measure of obligation» because «the French today know the right gestures», declared Wednesday evening the Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on TF1.