Photo taken on June 3, 2020 shows the contact-tracing smartphone app "StopCOVID" on a mobile phone in Paris, France. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)
"We can reasonably declare that the virus is under control. The virus is still circulating in certain regions notably in Ile-de-France and eastern France, but it's circulating slowly."
PARIS, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The coronavirus epidemic is now "under control" in France, Jean-Francois Delfraissy, an immunologist and head of the scientific council that advises the French government on COVID-19, said on Friday.
"We can reasonably declare that the virus is under control. The virus is still circulating in certain regions notably in Ile-de-France and eastern France, but it's circulating slowly," Delfraissy told France Inter radio.
The immunologist noted that compared with the new single-day cases reported in March, it now shows "a significant decrease" in the virus circulation.
People sit on the terrace of a bar in Lille, northern France, June 2, 2020. (Photo by Sebastien Courdji/Xinhua)
"Most importantly, we have all the tools to detect these new cases. We have the tests, … and a whole system of isolation to be able to trace the positive cases and to avoid the virus to spread again," he added.
On Thursday, the council published a report in which it detailed four scenarios of future epidemic situation, with recommendation of measures to be activated in response.
The first scenario describes an "epidemic under control" as a result of nearly two-month lockdown.
"We think the first scenario, a controlled epidemic, is the most likely," Delfraissy said.
Meanwhile, he warned that French people should not relax "too much" their efforts, recommending continued distancing measures, wearing mask in public transport and frequently wash their hands.
A woman wearing protective face shield reads a newspaper while having coffee at Cafe de Flore in Paris, France, June 2, 2020. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)
The other scenarios are based in terms of acceleration of virus spread and increasing of tension in hospitals. The second is "the appearance of critical clusters" in which the government should reinforce testing, quickly isolate cases and trace suspect ones.
The third scenario consists in a "progressive, quiet restart of the epidemic, which would be more difficult to control" and the fourth -- the most severe -- a "critical degradation" in the situation leading to a "loss of control on the epidemic," which likely will force authorities to re-impose restrictive rules on people movement.
As of Thursday, France had registered 44 new daily deaths from COVID-19, bringing the toll to 29,065, while confirmed cases increased by 767 in one day. The number of hospitalized patients decreased by 413 to 13,101, including 1,163 in intensive care, down by 47.
A poster reading "Everything will be fine" is seen outside a residence in Paris, France, May 31, 2020. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)■
