Virus count revised, new clusters emerge as France reopens

PARIS (AP) — France’s national health ncy reported a sudden jump in new virus infections -- just an hour after prime minister anunced a sweeping national reopening plan.

ncy clarified Friday that surprising new figures were result of a new accounting method, and t linked to a much-feared second wave of virus.

But y highlighted concerns about French government’s “We are where we h hoped to be at end of May, and maybe a little better,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Thursday, as he anunced that r

Statistics released Friday showed 96 virus clusters have emerged around France since government started easing confinement measures May 11. y are primarily in medical facilities, businesses and shelters.

And virus remains a serious risk in two overseas French regions, where health care is weaker and poverty higher than on mainland: Indian Ocean island of Mayotte and French Guiana on South America’s Caribbean coast.

Overall COVID-19 is receding in France, with number of virus patients in intensive care dropping every day since April 8 and w at 1,429.

But public health ncy DGS quietly released figures Thursday night showing a rise of more than 3,000 new infections from day before – biggest such jump in more than three weeks.

That puzzled epidemiologists like Dr. Laurent Toubiana, who has been closely following curve of virus in European countries, and thinks epidemic is petering out in France. “It's incomprehensible," he said.

DGS n said Friday new cases included positive tests registered under a “better, more exhaustive” counting system put in place May 13, and did t correspond to a single-day rise. It insisted re are “ signs in favor of a return of epidemic.”

France has confirmed 149,071 cases so far, though government ackwledges real number of infections is much higher because of limited testing.

French government came under criticism for t testing widely eugh earlier in pandemic. It is w testing more than 200,000 people a week, according to health ncy.

Death figures are also difficult to pin down. France has reported 28,662 deaths overall in hospitals and nursing homes, and state statistics ncy Insee on Friday reported a 26% rise in overall deaths in March and April from all causes compared to same period in 2019.

In May, it said number of overall deaths in France is down 6% so far, though finalized death figures usually lag by a few weeks, so number could still rise.

“During this whole epidemic, we have h intense problems of viability of data,” Toubiana said.

As scientists try to determine why pandemic is taking longer than expected to end, he said, “We are all trying with means we have to understand this phemen.”