Issued on: Adjusted:
Despite the increase in COVID-19 cases, the administration of President Emmanuel Macron has so far not declared a new national blockade, instead opting to tighten measures at the local level in heavily affected cities such as Nice and Dunkirk, but Paris has been spared so far.
“I call on everyone, and especially those living in the capital, to be extremely careful, to wear a mask and to respect social distance. The aim is to reduce the pressure on the hospital system,” Castex said during a visit. at a hospital.
The number of people with COVID-19 in the intensive care units exceeded 4,000 on Friday for the first time since November 26, with almost 1,100 patients with COVID-19 in the intensive care unit in the Paris region alone.
In Paris and the surrounding region, health managers say intensive care units are close to being overloaded.
Castex said that in the Ile-de-France region around Paris, the vaccination campaign will be accelerated this weekend, with the delivery of 25,000 additional doses.
France’s vaccination program has been hampered by logistical bottlenecks and supply problems with vaccine manufacturers, but Castex said the campaign is accelerating, with a new record of 320,326 outbreaks on Friday.
>> How the launch of the EU-wide Covid-19 vaccine has become a “Brexit announcement”
(REUTERS)