As France navigates the peak of its second COVID-19 wave, with the virus reproduction rate declining, hopes rise for easing restrictions. Yet, a top WHO official cautions that repeating post-first-wave errors could trigger a third wave by early 2021.
Virus circulation in France has slowed over the past week, but it's premature to declare success. Vigilance remains essential. On November 19, 2020, Le Monde reported 32,345 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, including 2,200 new admissions and 311 in intensive care. Early signs of decline suggest heavy restrictions could lift by late December, potentially reaching the 5,000 new cases per day threshold for better control.
In a November 22, 2020, interview with Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), WHO special envoy David Nabarro highlighted European governments' failure to build essential infrastructure over the summer after controlling the first wave. He stressed the urgent need for such systems now to avert a third wave.
Nabarro defines "necessary infrastructure" as localized systems for tracing confirmed cases to swiftly break transmission chains, coupled with close surveillance to identify infections and enforce isolation.
He noted that Asian countries avoided prematurely easing measures. Contrasting Switzerland's mask-free skiing on lifts with South Korea's aligned strategies, Nabarro deemed Europe's response incomplete overall.
“People are fully engaged, adopting behaviors that hinder the virus: keeping distance, wearing masks, isolating when sick, washing hands and surfaces, and protecting vulnerable groups,” Nabarro said of Asian nations.
