Paris hospitals near capacity after upsurge in coronavirus cases

Hospitals in France’s capital are near to capacity with an upsurge in Covid-19 patients.

In Paris, 84 people with coronavirus died in the region’s hospitals, which are at 92% capacity.

There are 1,050 Covid-19 patients in intensive care and another 600 patients in ICU with other ailments, Aurelien Rousseau, head of the Paris region health service, told public broadcaster France-Info on Thursday.

France is in a month-long partial lockdown to lessen rising coronavirus hospital admissions and deaths.

Restaurants and non-essential stores are closed, but schools remain open.

The infection rate per 100,000 people remains extremely high at around 480.

With more than 27,000 people in hospital across France, the Covid-19 patients occupy more than 80% of the nation’s ICU beds, according to the public health agency.

That was the highest level since April.

Overall, France has 1.5 million confirmed cases and 38,674 deaths, the seventh-highest toll worldwide.