COVID-19 Casesโฃ Rise in France with New “Frankenstein” โVariant Under Watch
Grenoble, France – September 23, 2025 – COVID-19 infections are increasing โacross France, โฃwith a notable โsurge in hospitalizations and the emergence of a new variant, dubbed โฃ”Frankenstein” โฃ(XFG), prompting health โฃofficials โขto monitor the situation closely.
Recent data from theโฃ Grenoble University Hospital Laboratories shows thatโข over 11% of 233โ COVID tests conducted between September 15 and September 21 wereโ positive. This marks a meaningful increase from zero positive testsโ at theโฃ same facilityโข at the end of August. The Chambรฉry hospital center reported an even higher โpositivity rate of 16.79%โฃ during theโ same period.
emergency room visits โคrelated to COVID-19โ are also climbing โsharply. In the Ardรจche department, emergency passagesโ for COVID-19โค have increased tenfold, jumping โfrom 106 per 100,000 emergency visits in โmid-August to nearlyโฃ 1,200 on september 15. While other departments are โexperiencingโค similar increases, the Hautes-Alpes department has seen a recent decline after an initial peak.
The World Health Association (WHO) has designated theโ XFG variantโ as a variant under surveillance, noting its “rapid growth compared โขto co-circulating โขvariants โขon a global scale.” Epidemiologist Mircea Sofonea explained thatโ the variant is “more transmissible, becauseโฃ it has several key changes.”
Despite the rise in cases,health officials state current figures are comparable to the 14th wave in September 2024,and remain lower than previous peaks. Experts predictโฃ COVID-19 will likely become โa seasonal virusโฃ by 2026, similar to influenza.
France’sโข COVID vaccination campaign is scheduled to launch officially on October 14 for high-risk individuals. However, there is discussion โabout perhaps advancing the campaign if transmissionโค rates continue to climb, according to the Ministry ofโข Health. Public Health France will assess the situation at the end of September to determine if an earlier rollout is necessary.
