By transferring the patients, officials hope to avoid a new lockdown for the 12 million people in and around the French capital as they race to step up a vaccination drive that has failed to gather traction.
Speaking on Sunday, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said that "by the end of this week, probably around 100 patients will have been evacuated from the Ile-de-France region".
Lockdown still a possibility
When pressed if Paris would avoid a new lockdown, Attal said "we are doing everything we can to not have to take more difficult, more restrictive measures."
However, "we will always take whatever decisions are necessary."
Later this week, two specially equipped TGV trains will transfer "several dozens of patients to regions that today are under less strain" from the pandemic, Attal added.
Vaccination drive stepped up
The authorities are hoping to see the roll-out of vaccinations gather pace as of this Monday 15 March as pharmacies start vaccinating people over 50 who show additional health risks.
- Pharmacists to join French vaccine drive as AstraZeneca jab limited to under-65s
- Northern France faces weekend lockdown, pharmacies to issue jabs
The government has already ordered weekend shutdowns for the northern Pas-de-Calais region -- where transfers of Covid patients to less crowded hospitals began earlier this month -- and in the Mediterranean region surrounding Nice.
Of the 4,100 Covid patients currently in intensive care nationwide, around 1,100 are in Paris-area hospitals.
#Vaccination #COVID19 | Au 13 mars, 5 061 738 premières injections et 2 236 066 secondes injections ont été réalisées.⤵
— Ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé (@Sante_Gouv) March 13, 2021
A 6pm-6am curfew remains in place across France and restaurants, cafés, cinemas, theatres and large shopping centres have been shut, but the average daily number of new Covid cases has continued to climb steadily in recent weeks.
On Saturday, France's public health agency reported nearly 30,000 new cases over the previous 24 hours and 174 fatalities, bringing France's total death toll to 90,315.
