France witnesses more than 10,000 deaths from coronavirus
Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis blighting many European nations reached a new death toll milestone of over 10,000 deaths in France. Hence, like Italy and Spain that have more than 10,000 deaths, the nation of France is reeling from the coronavirus nightmare. Therefore, with the United Kingdom set to reach this gruesome figure by the middle of April, it is clear that many nations in Europe are in deep trouble.
President Emmanuel Macron of France introduced a draconian lockdown to try to quell the crisis. This includes stringent fines for people who disobey the lockdown. Despite this, many hospitals are under enormous stress and deaths in nursing homes are horrendous.
Jérôme Salomon, the Director of Health, is adamant that the lockdown must be maintained. He claims that France is still on its “upward phase.” Hence, “Letting off the pressure now would be dangerous.”
Alarmingly, despite the horrendous number of deaths, Salomon knows that the height of the crisis is still to come. He states, “The peak has not been reached.”
However, on a slightly positive note, the need for beds for intensive care is gradually slowing. Yet, for now, the death toll will continue to rise at an alarming rate.
Oliver Véran, the Health Minister, uttered, “The efforts of healthcare workers are helping us to get on top of the peak of the disease that we’re going through.”
Yet, he cautioned, “It’s not over, far from it, we’re not at the end of the increases in the epidemic. The path remains long and nothing is finished, as the figures show.”
Deaths in nursing homes are horrendous and one can only imagine the fear of many elderly people and care workers. The BBC reported four days ago, “As nursing and care homes across Europe battle to stop the spread of Covid-19 among the elderly, France has revealed 1,416 residents have succumbed to the virus since the epidemic began.”
Since then, more elderly people have passed away in nursing homes in increasing numbers along with the general population. Hence, France is waiting for the death toll plateau to finally come down.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52202705
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52147861
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