The French authorities confirmed the first cases of the Omicron version of the coronavirus in mainland France on Thursday, but their alarm remained focused on a surge of infections fueled by the Delta variant.
France reported nearly 50,000 new cases of the virus in 24 hours on Wednesday, the highest daily total since the spring. The number of reported cases per 100,000 people has soared from less than 100 to more than 300 over the past month.
“We need to anticipate — there are still a lot of uncertainties,” Jean-François Delfraissy, the head of the French government’s Covid-19 scientific advisory council, told BFMTV on Thursday, referring to Omicron. “But let’s not fight the wrong fight. The real fight, the real enemy, is the fifth wave with the Delta variant.”
The surge has alarmed French authorities, even though they have so far ruled out a return to lockdowns or business closures. Mr. Delfraissy said that cold had pushed people indoors and that social distancing was no longer being scrupulously followed. The average number of new hospital admissions, including in intensive care, has also increased by roughly 40 percent over the past weeks, according to official statistics.
But hospitalizations are still below the peaks seen in previous waves, thanks…
