Covid-19 in France: in a Toulouse hospital, the beginnings of a fourth wave
The intensive care unit at Purpan hospital, in Toulouse, in February 2021 (image illustration).
AFP - GEORGES GOBET
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
In France, we are seeing the beginnings of a fourth wave of coronavirus.
The number of Covid-19 patients hospitalized and admitted to intensive care has been increasing for more than 15 days.
If we look at a map of the country, we can see disparities from one region to another.
The most touristy, during this holiday period, are more affected than the others.
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In Occitania, in the South-West, the incidence rate, ie the number of positive tests per 100,000 inhabitants, has increased by more than 40% in one week.
And hospitals are feeling it with increasing pressure, as in one of the intensive care units of the Toulouse University Hospital.
After reaching zero Covid in June, the intensive care unit at Purpan hospital saw patients return in mid-July.
Since then, the number of admissions has followed the curve of the incidence rate… The increase is exponential.
The increase is exponential.
We are facing a new epidemic wave.
Véronique Ramonda, resuscitator at the Purpan hospital in Toulouse
Marie Casadebaig
This Tuesday, the service had 7 Covid-19 patients, who therefore occupied half of the intensive care beds.
For Doctor Véronique Ramonda, one of the resuscitator, this is indeed a new epidemic wave, marked by
the Delta variant
.
And it almost exclusively affects unvaccinated people.
“
The youngest is 39 years old and the oldest is 70 years old.
But the vast majority oscillate between 40 years and 50 years.
You should know that the overwhelming majority of patients are not vaccinated.
Vaccinated patients, the rare ones we have had, have immunosuppression
, ”she notes.
The vaccine is indeed less effective on immunocompromised patients.
Unlike previous waves, the elderly are less affected because they are better vaccinated.
Doctor Ramonda fears the peak predicted for mid-August by the Pasteur Institute.
“
At the staff level, it will be very complicated during the vacation period.
We have already started to deprogram non-urgent interventions but we risk having great difficulties from August 9-10,
”she continues.
Because in addition to Covid-19 patients, road accidents are added to this sheave service.
They had almost disappeared during the last confinement.
There are many of them during this holiday period.
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