France’s decision to re-impose a state of ‘health emergency’ comes a day after French President Emmanuel Macron chaired a meeting of the new health defence council to discuss measures to contain the spread of Covid-19.
[REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE] File photo of French President Emmanuel Macron (Photo Credits: AP)
France on Wednesday decided to re-impose a state of ‘health emergency’, according to news agency AFP. The decision comes less than 24 hours after French President Emmanuel Macron met senior cabinet ministers to discuss measures to contain further spread of Covid-19.
Earlier on Monday, French Prime Minister Jean Castex had told media outlets that local lockdowns across the country cannot be ruled out. Prime Minister Castex’s remarks came in the wake of authorities in Toulouse and Montpellier declaring ‘maximum alert status’ to contain the spread of infection.
Prior to this, Paris, Marseille and four other French cities had announced similar measures.
French President Emmanuel Macron‘s meeting with a new health defence council was prompted by a spike in the number of people being treated in intensive care units for Covid-19 across the country. The number of people being treated in intensive care units for Covid-19 in France was pegged at 1,539 on October 12.
Hours before the French government announced its decision to re-impose a state of health emergency, Martin Hirsch had told France24 that 90 per cent of intensive care beds in Paris and its suburbs could be filled by the end of next week. Martin Hirsch is the head of APHP, a public hospital group which supervises 39 public hospitals in Paris and its suburbs.
The World Health Organisation’s Covid-19 dashboard puts the number of confirmed cases of infection in France at 7,28,745 to date. This includes 32,679 patients who have succumbed to the virus in France as of October 14.