Surge in number of French Covid cases, decline in admissions to intensive care

A hospital in the Israeli city of Haifa has resorted to turning its underground car park into a coronavirus ward, as demand for beds outstrips supply in the country. AFP

As widespread testing continues across France, each 24-hour period produces a grim new record for the number of infections.

The latest daily report from the public health authorities shows that nearly 27,000 new cases were confirmed in the 24 hours ending at lunchtime on Saturday.

The percentage of those testing positive has also risen to 11 percent, up from 10.4 in the previous 24 hours.

At the same moment, there were 1,456 Covid sufferers in intensive care, the highest number needing emergency treatment since May.

50 millions d’euros permettront l’ouverture de lits dits « lits à la demande ».
Chaque fois qu’on aura besoin d’augmenter temporairement la capacité de l’hôpital pour prendre en charge plus de patients, on pourra le faire !
Et c’est le #SegurDeLaSanté qui le permet.

— Olivier Véran (@olivierveran) October 9, 2020

But the number of new admissions to intensive care is down to 110 patients, 40 fewer than on Friday.

At the height of the epidemic earlier this year, there were more than 7,000 French patients being treated in intensive care for Covid symptoms.

That number declined to a maximum of 400 emergency cases by the end of August, only to begin a relentless rise ever since.

France has an official capacity of 5,000 intensive care beds.