France crosses the barrier of 3,000 dead in hospitals

It’s an epidemic ” unprecedented, severe, deadly ”. It is with these words that the Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon, described the Covid-19 epidemic that has affected France for several weeks. During his daily update, Monday, March 30 in the evening, Professor Salomon said the new death toll now stands at 3,024 deaths from the coronavirus, including 418 in the past 24 hours – the largest increase seen so far.

This “Highly contagious virus, with rapid spread” who exercises “An unprecedented impact” out of the 717 healthcare establishments mobilized, according to Professor Salomon, forced more than 21,000 patients to be hospitalized. Among them, more than 5,100 are in intensive care, or 475 more since Sunday.

• The peak expected this weekend in Ile-de-France

The Grand-Est, which was the first region to be severely affected, recorded 3,950 hospitalizations, including 844 in intensive care and 919 deaths in hospital. After multiple evacuations over the weekend, six patients were transferred Monday by three army helicopters from Strasbourg to Switzerland and Germany.

In the Paris region, where “The peak is scheduled for the end of the week instead”, according to Stéphane Gaudry, professor of intensive medicine at the Avicenne hospital in Bobigny, 954 deaths were recorded Monday evening in hospitals and nearly 7,700 people were hospitalized, including 1,792 in intensive care. Ile-de-France patients are expected to be transferred by train to less strained regions soon, concordant sources.

The public assistance-hospitals of Paris (AP-HP) tests the possibility of oxygenation of patients at home, to cope with the influx of patients of Covid-19 in Ile-de-France, explains its director general, Martin Hirsch, Tuesday in Release.

Baptized “Covidom 02”, this initiative consists of the possibility of oxygenating patients at home under remote medical supervision, and aims to “Start to prepare for the next step: to allow patients to get out of acute medicine more quickly so that they can receive others, for example out of intensive care”says Hirsch.

• The danger of self-medication

In the face of the spreading disease, and pending the results of clinical trials launched on certain potential treatments, theThe Medicines Agency (ANSM) alerted Monday evening on the possible “Serious side effects” currently tested drugs.

” Thirty “ serious side effects, including “Three deaths” in patients with coronavirus are being investigated to determine whether these events are related or not to the treatments which have been administered to them: Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine) but also other drugs such as Kaletra indicated to the ‘Agence France-Presse (AFP) Dominique Martin, the director general of the ANSM.

“No drug in the world has proven to be effective” recalled Jérôme Salomon, who also warned against self-medication.

• Masks, a coveted protection

To deal with this epidemic, shipments of masks continue to arrive in France from China. A cargo plane dropped ten million on Monday at Paris-Vatry airport (Marne) as part of the airlift between China and France. Sixteen flights are scheduled at this airport. France expects a billion masks over fourteen weeks, according to the ministry of health.

Tuesday morning, Emmanuel Macron will visit the mask factory of PME Kolmi-Hopen on the outskirts of Angers (Maine-et-Loire), to “Show the exceptional mobilization of our industry to meet the needs linked to the Covid-19 crisis”.

Caregivers are on the front line in this epidemic which has just mowed down a sixth doctor, a hospital practitioner in Metz (Moselle). ” Many “ others are in intensive care, the hospital management said without further details. The regional health agency has confirmed the death of a “Director of care” of an Ile-de-France establishment, without location.

The police and many employees also claim protective equipment. The Alternative Police CFDT union appealed for donations to endow the police and, according to SUD-PTT, ” at least “ 10,000 postal workers have exercised their right of withdrawal.

• Reopening of food markets

On the economic front, the Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, on Monday called on companies using partial unemployment measures in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic not to pay dividends, after banning it groups benefiting from a deferral of charges. More than 500,000 businesses asked for a payroll tax deferral in March, said public accounts minister Gérald Darmanin.

A quarter of the 10,000 food markets in France will reopen this week under strict sanitary conditions, especially in medium-sized towns, which should allow some producers to sell cheeses, cold meats or other foods blocked by the coronavirus epidemic.