The growing number of corona patients is putting increasing pressure on intensive care units of hospitals in and around Paris.
The CEO of hospital organization AP-HP warns in the newspaper Le Parisien that next week up to 90 percent of the ic beds may be occupied by patients with the virus.
“By October 24, there will be at least 800 to 1000 Covid patients in intensive care,” predicted Martin Hirsch, who works in dozens of hospitals. “That equates to 70 to 90 percent of our current capacity.”
Such forecasts are putting pressure on the government to intervene more sharply. President Emmanuel Macron is likely to announce new measures on television on Wednesday evening. He consulted with his most essential ministers on Tuesday morning.
It is still unclear precisely what Macron is planning, but according to French media, a curfew may be imposed in large cities. In the capital Paris and some other places, cafés have already been closed to prevent the virus from spreading.
France reported a record number of new infections last Saturday. In one day, nearly 27,000 people were diagnosed with the virus. During the height of the first wave of the corona pandemic in the spring, the military had to set up emergency hospitals to support healthcare facilities.
Other European countries also registered record numbers of infections recently. That happened on Tuesday in Russia, among others, where 13,868 new infections were reported.
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