The coronavirus epidemic continues to claim lives in France. This Monday 16th March 2020, Santé Publique France announced 21 deaths and 1,210 more cases in 24 hours.
The Covid-19 continues its spread in France. This Monday, March 16, 2020, Santé Publique France announced that the death toll was now 148 deaths and 6,633 cases of contamination on the national territory.
It is 21 dead and 1,210 more cases than yesterday, Sunday 15th March, day of the first round of municipal elections in France. The toll rose Sunday to 127 dead and 5,423 cases.
Largest increase in the number of cases
This is the largest daily increase in the number of cases since the appearance of the virus in France, which officially entered on Saturday 14th March in stage 3 of the epidemic.
Sunday evening, 400 people were hospitalized in serious condition. But no new communication had yet been made on this figure Monday evening.
Worldwide, still according to the daily assessment by the French public health agency, the coronavirus killed 6,507 people on Monday, the majority of whom are outside China for the first time (3,217 in China, 3,290 outside from China).
Emmanuel Macron takes new measures
In this context of a health crisis of unprecedented magnitude, Emmanuel Macron addressed the French on Monday at 8 p.m., his second address to the Nation in less than a week.
The President of the Republic announced the restriction of travel throughout the territory from Tuesday 17th March, noon, for a period of at least 15 days. “We are in a health war”, he repeated several times.
EN DIRECT – “Nous sommes en guerre sanitaire” contre le coronavirus, déclare Emmanuel Macron https://t.co/BBvxjS0azB pic.twitter.com/pHa7T5eU0K
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) March 16, 2020
Since midnight Saturday evening, the French have been invited to stay at home and most of the “non essential” public places and shops have been closed . It is also the case of nurseries, schools and universities since this Monday morning, and for several weeks.
Read also: Coronavirus: shops, services, what is closed and what remains open
“The situation is deteriorating very quickly”
The situation is “very worrying” and “is deteriorating very quickly”, insisted the Director-General of Health Jérôme Salomon on Monday morning at the microphone of France Inter.
“The number of cases now doubles every three days,” he said, emphasizing, in particular, the “hundreds” of patients in intensive care and whose life prognosis is underway.
Jérôme Salomon, directeur général de la Santé : “Beaucoup de gens n’ont pas compris qu’il faut rester à domicile, cette faible adhésion [aux consignes] fait qu’on n’arrive pas à freiner l’évolution de l’épidémie” #79Inter
— France Inter (@franceinter) March 16, 2020
“There is a concern that this rapidity of the epidemic will cause saturation of the French hospital system, which we absolutely want to avoid”, he said again, citing, in particular, the difficult situation in the Grand-Est and in Ile -of France.
The Director-General of Health also said that the patients were “often young people” and that “half of the people in intensive care are under 65 years of age”, while many people think that the elderly are the main affected.
“One can find oneself in a very serious situation being a healthy adult.”
Masks for caregivers
The Minister of Health Olivier Véran also announced on Monday that pharmacies in the 25 most-affected departments will be supplied with masks Tuesday evening, intended for health professionals.
😷 #COVIDー19 | Médecins, pharmaciens, infirmiers libéraux pourront récupérer du matériel de protection demain soir dans les pharmacies des 25 départements les + touchés, & mercredi sur tout le territoire. Les masques sont précieux ! Réservez-les à ceux qui en ont vraiment besoin
— Olivier Véran (@olivierveran) March 16, 2020
Emmanuel Macron confirmed this during his speech, specifying that the rest of the country would be supplied on Wednesday, but only for nursing staff.
Large areas stormed
In addition to the closings of shops and schools, the government has decided to severely cut long-distance transport, with rail traffic soon to be halved and only “a few international flights”. The Air France-KLM group also plans to reduce its offer by 70 to 90%.
France is also strengthening controls at its border with Germany, which it has started to filter motorists and pedestrians from France.
The Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire for his part assured that there would be “no shortage” while asking the French not to multiply precautionary purchases. But everywhere, supermarkets were stormed this Monday, sometimes even requiring, as in Alsace, the intervention of the police.
