“The virus is not under control. We are rather in an escalating phase” in Île-de-France. So warns Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris director Martin Hirsh this Wednesday March 17, 2021 on RTL. The head of Paris hospitals considers the Covid-19 epidemic has entered an “escalating” phase and the “virus is not under control” in the Île-de-France area, the hardest-hit region in France.
Delivering some reading key as to the state of the health situation, Hirsch reminded the “incidence rate is above 400” almost everywhere in Île-de-France underlining on the same occasion that “there are as many sick in ICU today as there were when the second wave peaked”. As for predictions, they are not cheering. “By late March we think that without the trend to increase or decrease – and it will not decrease – there will be between 1,700 and 2,100 patients” in AP-HP intensive care units. Even worse, “if I take one more week, if I go to April 6, it moves to between 2,000 and 2,800 patients in ICU”, he explains.
Weekend lockdown or strict lockdown
The government has been waring the Île-de-France region for weeks about the deterioration of the health situation. The threat of a strict 24/7 lockdown remains on the agenda, PM Jean Castex said this morning. According to AP-HP director, there are only two viable solutions to fight against the pandemic in the area: “whether it is weekend lockdown, and we must pair it with extra care during the week”, reminding on the same occasion the importance of working from home and health guidelines; “or it is a wider lockdown, and in this case, it has to be complied with, […] and stricter”.
Furthermore, Hirsch reminds RTL listeners a simple yet unchanging assessment: “measures announced today or tomorrow will have no impact by two weeks”. He intended to shine a light on why acting fast is vital to prevent overpressure in Paris hospitals and around. He also added that so far only 10 Covid patients have been transferred out of Île-de-France over the past 3 days.
