The Corsican Regional Health Agency announces that it has activated the white plan on the island, intended to strengthen hospitalization capacities in the face of Covid-19, in particular by deprogramming operations deemed non-urgent.

In Bastia, the occupancy rate of hospital services already exceeds 19%.

Faced with the fourth wave of Covid-19, the Corsican regional health agency activated the "regional white plan" on Tuesday in order to open "new hospitalization capacities" in Bastia where the occupancy rate "exceeds 79 % ". "Viral circulation and more particularly of the Delta variant is accelerating in Corsica with an incidence rate of 650 per 100,000 inhabitants" and "830 per 100,000 inhabitants in Haute-Corse", indicates the ARS in a press release. On Friday, the overall incidence rate in France stood at 224 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

The Isle of Beauty experienced this weekend the biggest tourist crossover of the year with more than 130,000 people who arrived in Corsica or left it.

This increase in the island population is already creating tensions on the island's hospital system, reinforced by the resumption of the epidemic since mid-July in Haute-Corse.

Anticipate the fourth wave

The current outbreak of Covid-19 is causing "a clear increase in hospitalizations" in Bastia where occupancy rates exceed 79%, "making it necessary to open new hospitalization capacities", underlines the health agency. The ARS also justifies the activation of the white plan "for a minimum period of four weeks" in order to "anticipate" the necessary arrangements to manage to accommodate future Covid patients at the Ajaccio hospital center.

This white plan makes it possible to mobilize all health personnel in order to increase the number of intensive care and hospitalization beds for Covid patients.

It aims to organize the deprogramming of operations while "protecting" emergencies, oncology, including screening appointments, and operations "for any patient whose postponement of care would lead to a loss of opportunity".

It is therefore necessary to organize these deprogramming, to allow the management of these patients and to prioritize their transfer, specifies the ARS which will carry out a "regular review of the situation".

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The return of certain restrictions 

Restrictive measures were put in place from mid-July in Corsica to fight against the upsurge of the Covid-19 epidemic with in particular the return of the compulsory mask in the main cities and the ban on gatherings of more than ten people in natural areas after 9 p.m. Festive events (baptisms, weddings) bringing together more than 50 people must be declared to the prefecture.

In total, 235 people have died on the island of 340,000 inhabitants since the start of the epidemic, including an 85-year-old man on Tuesday in Haute-Corse. Overall, 65 people are currently hospitalized including 14 in intensive care or resuscitation, 17 more than Friday, according to the latest report from the Regional Health Agency published on Tuesday. Regarding vaccination, 61.2% of the island population received a first dose and 49.8% both doses.