How is the health situation going to evolve in Île-de-France? Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris director Martin Hirsch has addressed the matter on Wednesday March 17, 2021 on RTL. He said he fears a boom in ICU admissions in the coming weeks. A number likely to exceed the one recorded during the first wave.
“In two weeks, at the end of the month, I think there will be between 1,700 and 2,100 patients” in intensive care, he explained. “If I go to April 6, it moves to between 2,000 and 2,800 patients in ICU. […] It is exactly what we struggle to attend a year ago, in early April last year”, he insisted on.
“And a year ago, for several weeks, we treated nothing else but Covid, we proceeded to some emergency transplantations, some urgent patients, and there were fewer of them because lockdown prevents many accidents”, Hirsch detailed.
For the record, 4,239 Covid-19 sick were in ICU this Tuesday. Over a quarter of them – namely 1,177 – are hospitalized in Île-de-France. A few days ago, Île-de-France Regional Health Agency urged regional hospitals and clinics to cancel about half of their medical and surgical activities to leave room in ICUs for Covid-19 sick.
A new Health Defense Council is to be held this Wednesday to address the situation and make new restrictions, especially in Île-de-France. Two scenarios are on the agenda for the Île-de-France area: weekend lockdown – as it is already instated in Pas-de-Calais and Alpes-Maritimes – or all week-long lockdown. Emmanuel Macron is expected to decide during the day. Even though restrictions are instated this Wednesday or Thursday, at least 2 weeks would be necessary to start and see the first impacts on these units, Hirsch wanted to add on RTL.
