The Minister of Health Olivier Véran went to Lyon-Bron airport on November 16 to attend medical transport for Covid-19 patients.

-

P. Desmazes / AFP

  • The Minister of Health Olivier Véran was at Lyon-Bron airport this Monday morning to attend patient transfers by medical planes, towards La Rochelle.

  • While signs of improvement are observed at the national level, he insisted on the need not to relax efforts in the face of the virus.

  • A virus that continues to suffocate hospital services in Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, the region most affected by the epidemic.

Signs of improvement and an epidemic peak reached which should not, however, give rise to relaxation.

This is in substance the message sent to Lyon on Monday morning by the Minister of Health Olivier Véran, who came to witness the departures of coronavirus patients by medical planes.

"If there are signs of improvement in terms of the epidemic, we have not yet conquered the virus", warned the minister, urging his fellow citizens "not to relax [their] efforts".

"We are gradually regaining control, but there are still many new patients," the minister told the press at Lyon-Bron airport, where he witnessed the evacuation of two patients. from a Lyon hospital to an establishment in La Rochelle.

Signs of improvement

"The health pressure is so high in some regions, such as Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, but not only, that it is necessary to transfer patients from one end of the country to the other by plane, whereas it is a Extremely complex mechanics which puts all the teams under tension, ”noted Olivier Véran, after speaking with the teams from Samu and the Lyon Edouard Herriot hospital.

This morning in Lyon, alongside the teams mobilized for a medical evacuation of a # COVID19 patient.

In 🇫🇷, 142 similar operations were organized since October.



We are gradually regaining control of the epidemic.

But let's not relax our efforts!

pic.twitter.com/3JD19bBJmu

- Olivier Véran (@olivierveran) November 16, 2020

Despite the first signs of improvement at the national level and a peak which seems to have been exceeded, the hospitals in the region, the most affected by the epidemic, are still in difficulty, recalled the minister.

In Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, 1,136 intensive care beds have been opened for an initial capacity of 559 beds.

Of the 142 evacuations carried out since October in France, 102 have been carried out from the region.

Thus the Minister dismissed any "call to relax our collective vigilance".

“On the contrary, he urged, it is a call which consists in saying: 'your action begins to pay off, it is decisive but these measures are necessary over time' (…).

We must continue our efforts ”.

Our articles on Covid-19

“There are now fewer new patients per day, the test positivity rate has been reduced, the incidence indicators are improving.

We are seeing this decrease in France and in a number of countries around us which have also put containment measures in place, ”explained Olivier Véran.

"A resumption of control", according to the minister

But before thinking about lifting this new confinement, it will be necessary to "lower the health pressure" over time and "ensure that the teams of Health Insurance and ARS (regional health agency) are again able to to carry out effective "contact tracing" and to break all the chains of contamination where they appear (…) We are in the process of evaluating what is the right level to make it possible to cope ”, he explained.

“I had spoken of shuddering a few days ago.

There, I talked about the fact that we are in a phase of regaining control but as long as the epidemic is at this level, it can start again.

So we must not stop ”, concluded the Minister.

By the Web

Coronavirus: How the government is trying to educate young people about the health crisis

Health

Coronavirus LIVE: The Moderna laboratory announces that its vaccine against Covid-19 has an efficacy of 94.5% ...

  • Coronavirus

  • Lyon

  • epidemic

  • Olivier Véran

  • Society

  • Covid 19

  • Hospital

  • Health