PARIS (Reuters) – The French Ministry of Health has asked regional health agencies and hospitals to join the “crisis organization” from 18 February to prepare for a possible increase in coronavirus cases due to highly contagious variants, the Le Journal Du Dimanche reported on Sunday.
The change, which would echo the measures taken in March and November 2020, when France entered national confinements, involves increasing the number of available hospital beds, postponing non-urgent surgery and mobilizing all the resources of the medical team.
“This crisis organization must be implemented in each region, regardless of the level of hospital stress, and should be operational from Thursday, February 18,” said the health authority DGS in a memo quoted by the newspaper.
DGS was not immediately available to comment on the matter to Reuters.
France reported 21,231 new confirmed cases of coronavirus on Saturday, slightly above 20,701 on Friday, bringing the cumulative total in France to 3,448,617, the sixth largest in the world.
In contrast to some of its neighbors struggling to control more contagious variants, France has resisted resorting to a new blockade, hoping that a national curfew in force since December 15, first at 8 pm and then at 6 pm, will contain the pandemic. .
Some scientists, however, believe that President Emmanuel Macron took a risk in deciding against a new blockade, despite the threat of highly contagious variants.
At the same time, France is behind several other European countries, such as Britain, in launching vaccines.
Health Minister Olivier Veran, who noted that the variant first detected in Britain was responsible for 25% of new infections confirmed in France, said on Thursday that the government will decide in the coming weeks whether tougher restrictions are needed at the national level.
Arnaud Fontanet, a member of the scientific council that advises the government on COVID-19 policy, told Europe 1 radio on Saturday that he feared that the variant first detected in Britain could be responsible for most cases in March.
Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Jean-Stephane Brosse; edition by Barbara Lewis