The number of intensive care beds dedicated to Covid patients must be increased, according to ARS Ile-de-France. For this, its director Aurélien Rousseau gave “the firm order” on March 8 to hospitals and clinics in Ile-de-France to deprogram 40% of their medical and surgical activities.

With 973 Covid patients currently in intensive care for “around 1,050 beds available” for these patients, “we are in a situation of very high tension,” Rousseau told AFP.

Because “the flow remains strong”, with “70 to 80 admissions per day in intensive care” but fewer discharges, and a balance in increase of “35 patients per day at the end of last week”, result of “the very strong increase in the incidence 15 days ago, “he explained.

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Increase resuscitation capacity

At this rate, the threshold of 1,127 available beds previously set – and not reached to date – should be exceeded this week.

It was therefore necessary to “react very quickly”, affirms Mr. Rousseau, who gave “the firm and immediate order” to public and private establishments in the region to deprogram 40% of their activities, with a new level set at 1,577 beds.

By the time the instruction is passed on to the field, “we hope that this objective will be reached during the next week”, adds the director of the ARS, who however says he is “ready to readjust the target, if the flow becomes less intensive in intensive care “.