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A French doctor said the country saw its first coronavirus patient in December, weeks before its first officially registered case.
Dr. Yves Cohen, head of resuscitation at various hospitals in Ile-de-France, Paris, said new tests on patient samples confirmed that the virus was in France just after Christmas.
Her team reviewed negative tests for coronavirus and flu for 24 patients who entered the hospital with respiratory symptoms in December and January, she told the French channel BFMTV.
Dr. Yves Cohen, head of resuscitation at various hospitals in Ile-de-France, Paris, said new tests on patient samples confirmed that a patient in France had a coronavirus on December 27.
A man, now in good health, was identified as a coronavirus carrier, but Dr. Cohen said he was “surprised” because he did not understand how he was infected.
He said, “Of the 24 patients, we had a positive Covid-19 result on December 27 when he was in the hospital with us.”
He said his team repeated the tests to confirm the results, Metro reported.
This would be the country’s first case a month earlier than they initially thought.
Dr. Cohen is requesting that other negative samples be reviewed around the same time and has reported the case to regional health authorities.
This occurs when France announced that it plans to lift the closure on May 11, when children will gradually return to schools in phases and some businesses will be allowed to reopen.
People queue in front of a supermarket in Paris on May 4, as France said it will gradually start lifting the shutdown on May 11.
A woman stands on her balcony in Paris behind signs saying ‘thank you caregivers’ and ‘together we are stronger’
People will be allowed to travel within 100 km (60 miles) of their homes without giving a reason for their movement.
But Health Minister Olivier Véran said it would depend on further drops in infection rates, particularly in the worst affected areas like Paris and northeast France.
The video cameras will be used to spy on people to verify that they are wearing face masks and that they comply with social distancing in France, it was revealed today.
The city of Cannes, in the south of the French Riviera, has tested the monitoring software, installed in open air markets and on buses.
The video cameras will be used to spy on people to verify that they are wearing face masks and that they comply with social distancing when France eases its closure next week (file image)
People wearing masks keep their distance on a metro train in Paris today, where people are still required to fill out certificates to justify their need to travel.
It is currently unclear how many other cities will adopt this digital surveillance, but French firm Datakalab, a startup launched in 2017, says its software does not violate the EU’s data privacy law.
“No image is stored or transmitted, ensuring that personal information is protected,” Datakalab told the BBC, announcing his collaboration with the city of Cannes.
The French surveillance system includes an automatic alert to the authorities and the city police where violations of the mask and distance rules are detected.
Datakalab says it is “not facial recognition” as the system does not store identification data, unlike common surveillance in China.
The Bassin de l’Arsenal, normally a prosperous part of the French capital, is almost empty on Monday
People queue outside a supermarket in Paris today. France has been closed for two months, but restrictions will be reduced on May 11.
He added that its algorithms can be incorporated into existing surveillance systems in other public spaces, such as hospitals, stations, airports and shopping centers.
The number of new COVID-19 deaths in France has decreased in recent days, with 135 deaths reported in the last 24 hours on Sunday.
But there was a spike for the first time in days on Monday, with 306 more deaths attributed to the virus.
French authorities have confirmed that it will not quarantine travelers arriving from the European Union and Great Britain.
This clarified its conflicting statement on Saturday, when the government said it planned to impose a mandatory 14-day quarantine on all travelers entering France.
When the lock begins to lift, people will be able to travel within 100 km (60 miles) of their homes without giving a reason for their movement.
Eurostar travelers wearing face masks arrive today at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris. All passengers must now wear a face mask
They have now said that quarantine will not apply to people coming from Europe’s borderless area, including Switzerland, Norway, Lichtenstein, and Iceland.
More quarantine rules will be released in the coming days for those arriving from elsewhere.
France is also debating a new bill to extend a ‘state of health emergency’ until July 24 to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
France has had more than 131,000 confirmed cases and 24,895 deaths, but the number of new cases has decreased dramatically since mid-April.
