PARIS – Reuters
The measure, which would echo the measures taken in March and November 2020, when France entered the national blockades, involves increasing the number of available hospital beds, delaying non-urgent surgery and mobilizing all medical staff resources.
“This crisis organization must be implemented in each region, regardless of the level of stress of the hospital and must be operational from Thursday, February 18,” the health authority DGS said in a memorandum quoted by the newspaper.
DGS was not immediately available for comment to Reuters.
France reported 21,231 new confirmed cases of coronavirus on Saturday, slightly higher than 20,701 on Friday, bringing the total number in France to 3,448,617, the sixth highest in the world.
Unlike some of its neighbors struggling to control more contagious variants, France has resisted a new blockade, hoping a nationwide shutdown will begin on Dec. 15, first at 8 p.m., then at 6 pm, will contain the pandemic.
Some scientists, however, believe that President Emmanuel Macron has made a bet in deciding against a new blockade, despite the threat of highly contagious variants.
At the same time, France is lagging behind several other European countries, such as the United Kingdom, in conducting vaccinations.
Health Minister Olivier Veran, who noted that the first variant detected in the UK accounted for 25% of new infections confirmed in France, said on Thursday that the government would decide in the coming weeks if tougher national restrictions were needed.
Arnaud Fontanet, a member of the scientific council advising the government on COVID-19 policy, told Europe 1 radio on Saturday that she feared that the variant first detected in the UK could explain most cases in March.
Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Jean-Stephane Brosse; edited by Barbara Lewis