Containment will be tightened in Guadeloupe from Friday until September 1 in order to "break the dynamic" of Covid-19 which is hitting the island, prefect Alexandre Rochatte announced on Wednesday August 11.
"The epidemic is becoming catastrophic and the situation is forcing us to take extremely harsh measures now," admitted the prefect during a press point with the director general of the Regional Health Agency (ARS), Valérie Denux.
"We must very quickly be able to break the increase in the epidemic" which is reaching "incidence rates never before known anywhere on the territory of the French Republic (...) with almost 1,900 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, ”he added, expecting that the 2,000 case mark will soon be exceeded.
No left-luggage office for tourists
To stop this wave of coronavirus, the prefect announced the extension of the curfew currently in force from 7 p.m. (against 8 p.m.) and until 5 a.m.
Residents will no longer be able to leave a 5 km perimeter around their home without authorization.
The so-called "non-essential" shops will have to close from 7 p.m. on Friday, but the beaches will remain accessible, but only for sporting purposes, even if Alexandre Rochatte has warned that he could close them this weekend if this measure does not occur. was not respected.
Regarding tourists, he did not invite them to return as in Martinique, an island where confinement was reinforced on Tuesday: "I do not wish to give instructions for the departure of tourists, but simply to indicate that it seems to me rather irrelevant to 'consider a tourist stay "in Guadeloupe, he said.
Overwhelmed hospitals
According to Valérie Denux, 17 people died this week and the Delta variant represents 90% of cases.
"Hospitals are overwhelmed," she admitted.
"We are reorganizing the health system by dedicating our hospitals and clinics almost completely to the Covid."
"We obviously continue to provide life-saving emergencies, but this is very clearly done to the detriment of other patients who need more traditional care," she admitted.
"We have gone from 27 intensive care beds to 67 today. To go further, we are potentially considering going up to 130 beds," she explained.
Overseas Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who arrived in Guadeloupe on Tuesday evening accompanied by a reinforcement of 274 caregivers and 60 firefighters, is due to go to Martinique on Thursday, where the Minister of Health Olivier Véran is also expected.
With AFP
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