A patient with Covid-19 on respiratory assistance at the Private Hospital in Antony, in the Paris suburbs. – CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT / AFP
The number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care fell slightly on Thursday, but remains very high, according to data from Public Health France (SPF). There were 5,705 people in critical care services (which combine resuscitation, intensive care and continuous monitoring), against 5,729 on Wednesday. In 24 hours, 498 patients were admitted to these services treating the most serious cases, against 673 the day before.
The number of people in intensive care exceeded the peak of the second wave of the epidemic at the end of March (a little more than 4,900 patients in mid-November), approaching that of the first wave (a little over 7,000 patients at the beginning of April 2020). This indicator is closely monitored by the health authorities, who fear hospital congestion, in the middle of the third wave of the novel coronavirus epidemic.
Ten million vaccinated
The total number of people in the hospital is also down slightly with 30,555 positive coronavirus patients currently hospitalized, against 30,904 the day before. A total of 2,156 people have been hospitalized in the past 24 hours. In 24 hours, 345 new deaths were recorded in hospitals, against 433 deaths the day before.
The number of cases recorded Thursday stands at 84,999, including a catch-up of the figures of the day before, which had not been published because approximately 400,000 test results could not be integrated into the database of SPF, had indicated the. agency. The positivity rate, percentage of infected people among those who are tested, has risen over the last 7 days to 7.3%.
On the vaccination front, France exceeded the 10 million first injections of Covid-19 vaccines on Thursday.