The coronavirus epidemic is once again overwhelming hospitals and according to many observers, the situation could become untenable within two weeks.

Resuscitation services, who fear saturation, also warn of the lack of personnel.

This is one of the leitmotifs of Emmanuel Macron and his government, which are preparing to announce new drastic measures: hospitals are increasingly approaching saturation.

Illustration in the Bouches-du-Rhône, where 194 people are already being taken care of by the intensive care services due to the coronavirus epidemic.

It is now the department where the beds fill up the fastest.

Next come the Nord department, with 191 people supported, and the Paris region.

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Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Wednesday, October 28

All regions are affected by the risk of saturation

"We are at 100% occupancy rate of our beds, so we refuse more patients than what we are able to accommodate '", explains Professor Djilali Annane, head of the intensive care unit of the Raymond Poincaré hospital in Garches, in the Hauts-de-Seine.

"We hope that the radical measures taken by the government will make it possible to bend the curve within two weeks or three weeks, to be able to hold out. Especially morally," he adds.

Hospitals are now facing a problem that they did not know during the first wave: now all regions of France are affected by the pandemic.

It will therefore be impossible to bring in reinforcements from more spared areas to more affected regions.

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Health establishments under pressure are therefore forced to call on the remaining mobilizable people, namely retired doctors, medical students or students in nursing school.

But to obtain caregivers who can be fully mobilized immediately, Professor Jean-Luc Jouve, La Timone hospital in Marseille, has only one option:

"To find reinforcements, there is only one tank: these are the operating theaters. This is where the system gets stuck. We must close operating theaters, and that is what we are going to do. We are going to close 4 of our 20 operating rooms. "

The professor fears being forced to choose between two patients to treat for lack of space, for the first time since the start of the epidemic.