Third Wave Of COVID-19, The Number Of Patients Raised Drastically, Hospitals In Paris Were Overwhelmed

Illustration. (Wikimedia Commons / Alberto Giuliani)

JAKARTA - Hospitals in Paris were overwhelmed by the surge in COVID-19 patients and were forced to choose which patients to treat when the third wave of COVID-19 hit Europe.

This condition occurred in the middle of French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to continue to defend his decision, not to carry out a complete lockdown in France.

Instead, a national curfew was imposed, along with further targeted restrictions in areas with a rising number of coronavirus cases.

Tighter partial lockdowns have been put in place in several parts of France, including in the city of Lyon where COVID-19 cases are increasing.

"We already know that our capacity to carry out treatment will be overwhelmed", wrote the Paris area doctor in Le Journal du Dimanche, as reported by Euronews.

"We will be obliged to conduct patient triage to save as many lives as possible. This triage will be of concern to all patients, with and without COVID-19, in particular for adult patient access to critical care", the letter continued.

Tighter partial lockdowns have been put in place in several parts of France, including in the city of Lyon where COVID-19 cases are increasing.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 patients in French intensive care units has risen to new highs for this year, according to French Health Ministry data as of Sunday, March 28.

There were 4.872 ICU patients being treated for COVID-19, nearing a November peak during the second wave of the virus in France. Although, this figure is still far below the highest lift which reached 7.000 in April last year. Meanwhile, the number of new infections fell by around 5.600 to 37.014 cases.

France also plans to speed up vaccinations, after being hit by the EU vaccine crisis with the COVID-19 vaccine producer AstraZeneca.

Junior European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune told France 2 Television yesterday that France would receive 2 million of the 16 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine detained by Italian authorities in connection with the dispute.

Meanwhile, the French Ministry of Health said that until yesterday, as many as 7.8 million French residents had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.