PARIS (Reuters) – The French Ministry of Health has asked regional health authorities and hospitals to join a “crisis organization” to prepare for a possible increase in coronavirus cases due to highly contagious variants, Le Journal Du Dimanche reported.
The move, which would be in line with the measures taken in March and November when France was shut down, will include increasing the number of hospital beds available, delaying non-urgent operations and mobilizing all medical staff.
“This crisis organization should be implemented in every region, regardless of the degree of stress in the hospital and should be operational from Thursday, February 18,” the DGS health authority said in a memo quoted by the newspaper on Sunday.
The DGS said in an email reply to Reuters that the memo reflected an “anticipatory approach” in light of the ongoing pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The goal is to mobilize all the health workers in the country in case there is an outbreak of the epidemic, which could happen if virus variants circulate,” he said.
Reuters could not independently confirm the contents of the memo cited by Le Journal Du Dimanche.
France reported 21,231 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Saturday, up from 20,701 on Friday, bringing the total number in France to 3,448,617, the sixth highest in the world.
Unlike some of its neighbors struggling to control more contagious variants, France has opposed another lockdown, hoping that a national curfew since December 15 will contain the pandemic.
However, some scientists believe that President Emmanuel Macron took a gamble by deciding against a new lockdown.
At the same time, France is lagging behind several other European countries, such as Great Britain, in rolling out vaccinations.
Health Minister Olivier Veran, who noted that the variant first discovered in Britain was responsible for 25% of confirmed new infections in France, said on Thursday that the government would decide in the coming weeks whether tighter national restrictions are needed. .
Arnaud Fontanet, a member of the scientific council that advises the government on COVID-19 policies, told Europe 1 radio on Saturday that he feared this variant could explain the majority of cases in March.
Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Jean-Stephane Brosse; Edited by Barbara Lewis and Alexander Smith