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Despite rising COVID-19 cases, President Emmanuel Macron’s government has not yet declared a new national lockdown, opting instead to tighten up local measures in hard-hit cities like Nice and Dunkirk, but Paris is up to been spared so far.
“I urge everyone, especially those living in the capital, to be extremely careful, wear the mask and respect social distance. The aim is to reduce the pressure on the hospital system,” Castex said on a visit. to a hospital.
The number of people with COVID-19 in intensive care units on Friday stood at more than 4,000 for the first time since Nov. 26, with nearly 1,100 COVID-19 patients in ICUs in the Paris region alone.
In Paris and the surrounding region, health managers say intensive care units are almost overloaded.
Castex said in the Ile-de-France region around Paris, the vaccination campaign would be accelerated this weekend, with the delivery of 25,000 additional doses.
France’s vaccination program is hampered by logistical bottlenecks and supply issues from vaccine manufacturers, but Castex said the campaign accelerated, with 320,326 injections on Friday, a new record.
>> How the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine in the EU became an ‘advertisement for Brexit’
(REUTERS)