A new Health Defense Council is to be held this Wednesday March 10 at the Elysée Palace to once again address the health situation in France. For the record, 23 departments are currently under strengthened surveillance and might be placed into weekend lockdown like in Dunkirk, Nice, and Pas-de-Calais.
Yesterday, the North prefecture announces they were extended weekend lockdown for the next three weeks, because of the “particularly tense” health situation.
Should new restrictions be expected at the end of the Defense Council? According to news collected by France Info, the government is not considering new restrictions for the time being. The news TV channel says the executive is not to ease off constraints instated to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country at this point.
Yet, the health situation in Île-de-France is preoccupying. The area is faced with the UK variant now dominating. As of March 9, Île-de-France reported up to 1,018 sick in intensive care, for “less than 1,050” vacant beds, according to the regional health agency. Since then, the ARS (Regional Health Agency), ordered hospitals and clinics in the area to cancel about half of their medical and surgical activities.
Even though the number of Covid-19 sick hospitalized in intensive care units keeps on increasing in the Île-de-France area, the incidence rate and the positivity rate are decreasing.
On March 9, Health Director General Jérôme Salomon told RTL Île-de-France was the area under the toughest surveillance. Yet, he said “lockdown in Île-de-France was not topical”, adding this measure is not to be instated until it is a last resort, “if we feel hospitals are not going to hold on”.
Coronavirus: putting Île-de-France in lockdown is not topical, Jérôme Salomon says
Could Île-de-France be placed in lockdown this week? As hospitals are urged to cancel surgeries, this Tuesday March 9, 2021, French Health Director General Jérôme Salomon says lockdown is not topical for the Paris area. [Read more]
