The emergencies of the Polyclinique Bordeaux Nord Aquitaine, April 5, 2020. – UGO AMEZ / SIPA
The balance sheet of the Covid-19 epidemic now exceeds 8,000 deaths in France and, while the rate of deaths and hospitalizations in intensive care seems to be slowing down, vigilance remains essential in respecting the containment, whose fourth week begins Tuesday.
After warning the French this week against the temptation to go on vacation with the start of this weekend of school holidays for zone C (Ile-de-France and Occitanie), the government sent them a satisfaction by the voice of the Minister of the Interior. “The French have respected the rule, have respected confinement”, which was Sunday in its 20th day, noted Christophe Castaner on France 2. “Release, it is the ally of the Covid”.
Over 160,000 police and gendarmes had been mobilized. And nearly 1.4 million checks have been carried out over the past three days, he added. The confinement period, already extended once, is scheduled at this stage in France to end on April 15. But an extension beyond this date seems likely.
Lowest number of deaths in a single day
A digital movement certificate must be available from Monday to justify the authorized exits, offering an alternative to the paper version in force since the start of confinement. The Directorate General of Health called on the population to “respect (er) the instructions, strict confinement, physical distance and barrier gestures, to protect us, protect our loved ones”. Remaining particularly cautious despite the latest daily 24-hour report which revealed an improvement in the situation.
Hospitals have indeed recorded the lowest number of deaths (357) on a single day since Tuesday, bringing the total to 8,078 including deaths in Ehpad and other medico-social establishments. Almost 7,000 patients were still in intensive care. Again, the authorities have seen an improvement with a slowdown in admissions to these services.
Italy – nearly 16,000 dead, a world record – and Spain have also seen a downward trend in deaths and hospitalizations. “The curve has started to descend” after a week of stabilization in “plateau”, noted Silvio Brusaferro, head of the Italian Higher Institute of Health.
“Too many people on the streets”
If the French have generally respected the rules of containment this weekend, the bright weather on Sunday nevertheless pushed some daring to venture out of their homes. As in Paris where joggers circulated among families on the banks of the Ourcq canal or children playing in groups in building courtyards. In Morbihan, vacationers and secondary residents came with their families to the commune of La Trinité-sur-Mer, according to the daily Ouest-France.
“Deconfinement is not on the agenda, the deadline is not fixed,” said Sunday, Laurent Nunez, Secretary of State to the Minister of the Interior. “I remind you of the rule (…) we go out when it is strictly necessary”. Earlier, AP-HP director general Martin Hirsch criticized the presence of “too many people on the streets, too many strollers, too many strollers” in Paris, met by the carers going to their work.
“I don’t even understand that we are talking about deconfinement, it continues to happen constantly,” lamented Nathalie (modified first name), nurse at the Kremlin-Bicêtre (Val-de-Marne), recounting submerged services for the sick. Forty patients with Covid-19 were transferred Sunday to “less stressed” regions, Brittany in particular, via medical trains. In total, according to the DGS, more than 610 patients in critical condition have been evacuated since March 18, from Grand Est and Ile-de-France.
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