The first effects of confinement at the weekend seem to be felt in Dunkirk: the incidence rate and positivity of the tests are down.
In the hospital, however, all the resuscitation beds are occupied and more than 90 patients had to be transferred in one month to other establishments.
The effect of the weekend curfew seems to be felt in Dunkirk.
The incidence rate has dropped significantly in the city, going from 1,000 to 785 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants in recent weeks.
The test positivity rate has also fallen sharply, but the region's figures remain above the national average.
The northern prefecture announced on Tuesday the extension of the confinement over the weekend until the end of March.
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The situation in the hospital also remains particularly worrying.
For the sub-prefect Hervé Tourmente, there is therefore no question of slackening the effort.
"We are absolutely not out of the woods. There is real pressure in the hospital, where we have more than 80 patients hospitalized for Covid," he explains.
More than 90 patients had to be transferred in one month to other establishments, including five outside the Hauts-de-France region.
"The virus is still circulating"
"This means that the virus is still circulating and that the epidemic is still there, with very significant effects. It is clear that we must maintain collective efforts. This is what makes the number of patients decline and in a few days or weeks the pressure will drop in the hospital. "
A hospital manager explained, however, on Wednesday morning that he did not expect improvement for two or three weeks.
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Now, it is to Belgian hospitals that the health authorities are considering transferring patients.
They are also setting up a new massive vaccination operation for the weekend in Dunkirk and Pas-de-Calais, with centers open on Saturday and Sunday.