Covid-19 in France: drop in the number of patients in intensive care, below 5,600

The number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care units, which started to rise again on Monday after several days of slow decline, dropped back below 5,600, according to figures from Public Health France published on Tuesday.

Critical care services (which combine resuscitation, intensive care and continuous monitoring) had 5,504 patients on Tuesday, including 355 admitted in the past 24 hours, against 5,630 patients the day before.

This is the lowest since April 5, when 5,433 patients were counted in these services.

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Below the peak of the first wave, higher than that of the second

This figure, scrutinized under a magnifying glass, had slowly declined last week, moving away from the 6,000 mark exceeded on April 26.

This bar, below which the number of patients hospitalized in these departments has been fluctuating since mid-April, is below the peak of the first wave in April 2020 (around 7,000) but higher than that of the second wave in the fall ( 4.900).

The total of Covid patients in the hospital is also down, to 28,427, against 28,950 the day before, with 1,591 new hospitalizations in the last 24 hours.

A week ago, hospitals were welcoming more than 30,000 Covid patients. 

A total of 243 people have died from the coronavirus in hospital in the past 24 hours, up from 311 the day before.

In addition, 24,371 new contaminations have been identified in the last 24 hours.