Daily Sabah logo

Politics
Diplomacy Legislation War On Terror EU Affairs Elections News Analysis
TÜRKİYE
Istanbul Education Investigations Minorities Expat Corner Diaspora
World
Mid-East Europe Americas Asia Pacific Africa Syrian Crisis Islamophobia
Business
Automotive Economy Energy Finance Tourism Tech Defense Transportation News Analysis
Lifestyle
Health Environment Travel Food Fashion Science Religion History Feature Expat Corner
Arts
Cinema Music Events Portrait Reviews Performing Arts
Sports
Football Basketball Motorsports Tennis
Opinion
Columns Op-Ed Reader's Corner Editorial
PHOTO GALLERY
JOBS ABOUT US RSS PRIVACY CONTACT US
© Turkuvaz Haberleşme ve Yayıncılık 2023

Daily Sabah logo

عربي
  • Politics
    • Diplomacy
    • Legislation
    • War On Terror
    • EU Affairs
    • Elections
    • News Analysis
  • TÜRKİYE
    • Istanbul
    • Education
    • Investigations
    • Minorities
    • Expat Corner
    • Diaspora
  • World
    • Mid-East
    • Europe
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Africa
    • Syrian Crisis
    • Islamophobia
  • Business
    • Automotive
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Tourism
    • Tech
    • Defense
    • Transportation
    • News Analysis
  • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Science
    • Religion
    • History
    • Feature
    • Expat Corner
  • Arts
    • Cinema
    • Music
    • Events
    • Portrait
    • Reviews
    • Performing Arts
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Motorsports
    • Tennis
  • Gallery
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Op-Ed
    • Reader's Corner
    • Editorial
  • TV
  • World
  • Mid-East
  • Europe
  • Americas
  • Asia Pacific
  • Africa
  • Syrian Crisis
  • Islamophobia

Paris hospitals could reach limit in 48 hours, French officials warn

by REUTERS

PARIS/TOULOSE Mar 27, 2020 - 2:52 pm GMT+3
Medical staff move a patient from a special high-speed train to an ambulance during a transfer operation of people infected with COVID-19, from Strasbourg to hospitals in western France, Angers, Thursday, March 26, 2020. (Reuters Photo)
Medical staff move a patient from a special high-speed train to an ambulance during a transfer operation of people infected with COVID-19, from Strasbourg to hospitals in western France, Angers, Thursday, March 26, 2020. (Reuters Photo)
by REUTERS Mar 27, 2020 2:52 pm
RECOMMENDED
 Britain's then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he attends a media briefing on the latest COVID-19 update in the Downing Street briefing room in central London, Nov. 27, 2021. (AFP File Photo)

Ex-British PM Johnson resigns as lawmaker from Parliament

United-Kingdom

A spike in coronavirus cases will put France under huge pressure in coming days, its prime minister said Friday, after the country reported its biggest daily death toll, as officials fear hospitals in and around Paris could be saturated in 48 hours.

Paris and its suburbs now account for over a quarter of the 29,000 confirmed coronavirus infections in French hospitals, with almost 1,300 now in intensive care. Highlighting the disease's brutality, a 16-year-old girl with no underlying health conditions died of the virus on Thursday.

The death toll nationwide stood at 1,696, with signs that the virus is also becoming endemic in the southwest.

"The epidemic wave that is sweeping France is a wave that is extremely high and it is putting the entire care and health system under tremendous strain," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told reporters.

"The situation will be very difficult in the coming days," he said.

President Emmanuel Macron on March 17 imposed a lockdown to slow the spread of the virus, but doctors say they expect a wave of cases next week after the government pressed ahead with local elections and thousands of people mingled in parks and streets before they were confined at home.

Officials in the Paris area have been scrambling to find more intensive care beds, ventilators and medical staff and spread the load of patients across the capital and its wider suburbs.

France has already increased the number of intensive care units from 5,000 to about 8,000, but doctors say Paris is already at its limit after almost doubling its capacity to about 1,200.

"We will clearly need help in the Ile-de-France (Greater Paris region) because what happened in the east is coming here," Frederic Valletoux, French Hospital Federation president, told BFM TV on Friday.

He was referring to the Grand Est region, where the first major cluster took hold in France and where hospitals are already overwhelmed.

"We will be at the limit of our capacities in 24 or 48 hours. We will need to show real solidarity between regions, hospitals and increase the numbers of patient transfers," he said.

The army has been drafted to transfer some critically ill patients to other cities from the east, while on Thursday the first patients were moved to western France from the east using high-speed TGV trains.

Health care serial killers

Emergency services have been redistributing patients in the capital to hospitals that are not already overwhelmed.

"If we let hospitals cope by themselves, and let every territory that has been taken by the epidemic cope alone, then we shall head toward a catastrophe," Valletoux said.

Isolation centers were being set up across Paris to allow people with symptoms to be assessed to avoid cramming hospitals.

"This center was set up to welcome patients that are suspected of having the coronavirus and to group patients in a place where we ensure patients are isolated," said one of the attendants at a center in Cergy-Pointoise, in the northeastern Paris suburbs.

Other regions are also starting to feel the pinch with medical staff decrying a lack of equipment, especially masks.

"They are letting us enter the lion's cage without anything to protect ourselves and our patients," Michelle Drouin, a nurse and union official in the southwestern Aude region, told Reuters, stressing that they were having to even replace blouses with plastic bags.

"They are turning us into serial killers. They are putting at risk health professionals and, because they are a vector of the virus, their patients too," she said.

RECOMMENDED
 Britain's then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he attends a media briefing on the latest COVID-19 update in the Downing Street briefing room in central London, Nov. 27, 2021. (AFP File Photo)

Ex-British PM Johnson resigns as lawmaker from Parliament

United-Kingdom
  • shortlink copied
  • RELATED TOPICS
    fight-against-terrorism DEUTSCHE-BANK US-LIBYA-RELATIONS
    KEYWORDS
    coronavirus france paris hospitals edouard philippe isolation centers
    The Daily Sabah Newsletter
    Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey, it’s region and the world.
    You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
    A Colombian soldier and a dog search for plane crash survivors in Solano, Colombia, May 17, 2023. (AFP Photo)

    4 children rescued from Colombian Amazon weeks after plane crash

    Colombia
    The flag carrier saw an 11.3% annual hike in passengers on international routes, hitting 4.5 million in May. (AA Photo)

    Turkish Airlines sees record number of passengers in May

    TURKISH-AIRLINES

    Saudi Arabia's 'lollipop' oil cut surprised OPEC+ too

    oil-markets

    4 Colombian children lost in Amazon after plane crash found alive

    Colombia
    No Image
    In photos: More than 60 years of Castros' rule in Cuba ends
    PHOTOGALLERY
    • POLITICS
    • Diplomacy
    • Legislation
    • War On Terror
    • EU Affairs
    • News Analysis
    • TÜRKİYE
    • Istanbul
    • Education
    • Investigations
    • Minorities
    • Diaspora
    • World
    • Mid-East
    • Europe
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Africa
    • Syrian Crisis
    • İslamophobia
    • Business
    • Automotive
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Tourism
    • Tech
    • Defense
    • Transportation
    • News Analysis
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Science
    • Religion
    • History
    • Feature
    • Expat Corner
    • Arts
    • Cinema
    • Music
    • Events
    • Portrait
    • Performing Arts
    • Reviews
    • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Motorsports
    • Tennis
    • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Op-Ed
    • Reader's Corner
    • Editorial
    • Photo gallery
    • Jobs
    • privacy
    • about us
    • contact us
    • RSS
    © Turkuvaz Haberleşme ve Yayıncılık 2021