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“Soon we will have to start choosing between patients with life-threatening conditions, and then we refer not only to covid patients, but also to others who need intensive care.”
The grim message is delivered by some 50 French intensive care unit (VAT) doctors in debate articles in the Le Monde and Le Journal du Dimanche newspapers ahead of Easter weekend.
Around 5,000 covid patients are now being treated at IVA in France, more than during the second wave of the fall. In the Paris region, the most affected, the figures are on the way to figures that were previously only recorded during the first wave of infection, exactly one year ago.
– We are very, very concerned. The third wave seems worse than the previous two, says Rémi Salomon, spokesman for doctors in public attention, to the BFM channel.
Covid-19 vaccination in a concert hall. Despite the increase in vaccination, around 5,000 covid patients are treated at IVA in France, more than during the second wave of the fall.
Photo: Francois Greuwz / TT
Similar alarms come from hospitals in Europe. The British variant of the coronavirus, B117, has quickly become dominant in many countries, including Sweden. With that, there is a faster spread of the infection and, at least according to some studies, an increased risk of serious diseases.
According to the WHO, currently 20,000 people die from covid-19 every week in Europe (including Russia and other European countries outside the EU). That’s more than at the same time last year.
Estonia is one of the worst affected countries, along with several other Central and Eastern European countries. At the same time, there are signs from countries like the Netherlands and Germany that part of the population is beginning to tire of the restrictions.
St. Peter’s Square in Rome even opens on Palm Sunday.
Photo: Matteo Nardone / TT
“Pandemic fatigue” can turn into a Hot topic during Easter: Many European governments have urged families to refrain from traditional family dinners.
– The devil tries to take advantage of the crisis to sow distrust, despair and conflict, Pope Francis warned at a little-crowded mass on Palm Sunday.
The pope’s appearances at the Vatican during Easter are believed to be marked by social distancing. Even in clearly Catholic Poland, a maximum limit of one person for every 20 square meters has been introduced in all churches, at the same time that society is largely shutting down, in an attempt to slow the spread of the infection. .
People dance in front of the “Institut du monde Arab” in Paris, during the second weekend of a new, but not total, closure of the capital.
Photo: Stephanie de Sakutin / AFP
In France, however, fairs can be held, if there are at least two empty chairs around each family. President Emmanuel Macron is trying to stick to his “third way”: relatively strict restrictions – with cafes and restaurants closed, numerous shops closed, and late-night curfews – but far from the complete “lockdown” introduced last spring that many doctors in the country want to see.
However, the balance between maintaining a certain normality of the population and protecting health care is increasingly difficult. This is especially noticeable in Germany, where the tone hardened last week between Chancellor Angela Merkel and state governments wanting to open society after Easter.
– Some have not understood the seriousness, Merkel said on Monday, at the same time that she opened to legislate to give more power to the federal government on the issue of infection control.
A mobilization is underway to accelerate the vaccination campaign in the EU member states. The hope is that this will soon lead to a decrease in the number of new deaths and serious illnesses. But so far, the third wave shows no signs of slowing down.
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Sweden can discontinue the Astra Zeneca vaccine for anyone under the age of 55.
Public Health Agency: Restrictions should be extended until May 3.
