France could be ‘overwhelmed’ with second COVID-19 wave, warns top health expert

On September 26, France’s head of the National Council of the Order of Doctors warned that the country could be “overwhelmed” and the healthcare will be on brink of collapse by the second Covid-19 wave, if “something does not change.” France’s top medical figure, Patrick Bouet, told the state-run weekly Journal du Dimanche that the coronavirus’ second wave of infection was arriving faster than they thought of. The warnings come after French Health Minister Olivier Veran imposed abrupt restrictions in the Mediterranean city of Marseille, Paris, and several other worst-hit regions to stem the second wave of infections. 

In a statement to the local daily, Bouet said that the coronavirus surge will pick up in three to four weeks, resulting in a widespread outbreak in the autumn and winter months if no immediate action were imposed to suppress the wave. In a shocking revelation, the top doctor claimed that France's health system will be unable to cope with the hard-hit caseload of the second wave and the medical staff available wouldn’t be sufficient for reinforcements.

[French health minister surrounded by doctors from hospitals in Marseille, I reported on the precise health situation and the outlook for the weeks to come. Credit: Twitter/Olivier Veran]

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10 percent of intensive care beds full

The health workers responsible for the spring "miracle" would not be able to plug those gaps, Bouet was quoted saying by Journal du Dimanche. Further, France’s former coronavirus hotspot experts indicated that second wave surge was 'highly likely' by the end of the summers in the wave of a noticeable caseload increase. The situation in the European country was “precarious” with virus circulation spikes, health experts warned. 

A statement published by the French Health Ministry on its website states, “The short term future of the pandemic mainly lies in the hands of the population. It is highly likely that we will experience a second epidemic wave this autumn or winter.” Sources to agency Associated Press confirmed that the hospitals in the Mediterranean city of France were under strain as doctors pondered over the government closure as the only way to stem the spread amid the growing hospitalizations rate. As of September 26, France reported more than 16,000 new confirmed cases as more than 10 percent of intensive care beds filled, with fears of count to shoot up. 

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