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Coronavirus in France: 471 new deaths, the government reveals for the first time the number of deaths in institutions for the elderly

The official assessment of the coronavirus in France increased on Thursday with 471 new deaths in hospital in 24 hours, bringing the total to 4,503 deaths since the start of the epidemic, to which must now be added at least 884 elderly people who died in retirement home.

In total, therefore, at least 5,387 people died of the coronavirus in the country. Authorities have so far only given figures for patients who died in French hospitals.

These first figures in retirement homes are however “very partial”, and their collection is not yet fully consolidated, said the Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon, in his daily update Thursday.

26,000 people are hospitalized in France of which 6,399 are in intensive care, or 382 more in one day, an increase which has slowed since Monday.

The number of intensive care patients still exceeds the country’s initial capacity of 5,000 beds.

As a result, hospitals are saturated, despite the opening of new beds. This is particularly the case in the Paris region.

Faced with this danger, evacuations are increasing, by plane or medical train, to hospitals in less affected regions. In total, according to the Directorate General of Health, 344 transfers have been organized since March 18.

New evacuations were underway Thursday, the regional health agency of Ile-de-France (Paris region) targeting 150 transfers by the weekend.

Another saturated sector is the undertaker. The Paris police prefecture has announced that a Rungis building, the largest wholesale market in Europe, will be transformed into a “large capacity” funeral home to accommodate the coffins of victims.

The French authorities are also starting to think about the strategies for getting out of the containment, which has been going on for more than two weeks and for the time being imposed until April 15. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe considered “probable that we are not moving towards a general and absolute deconfinement, in one go and for everyone”.

A strategy which will therefore strongly depend on the availability of tests, when the government is already criticized for its management, in particular masks.

The Prime Minister must speak for more than an hour and a half on Thursday evening on a television channel, a program during which he must in particular exchange with nursing staff.

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