France Sees Spike in COVID-19 Death Toll Amid Nursing Home Concerns

Published in Morocco World News on April 9, 2020:

The COVID-19 death toll in France rose to 12,210 on April 9, with a third of all the country’s deaths occurring in nursing homes, though the number of people in intensive care has decreased. 

France’s COVID-19 death toll rose by 412 people on April 9, a decrease from 541 on April 8, with 1,341 total casualties at the time of writing. 

Of France’s 12,210 total coronavirus fatalities, 8,044 were reported in hospitals and 4,166 were reported in nursing homes. 

In France’s hospitals, 7,062 people are in intensive care as of April 9, a decrease of 82 from April 8.

France is one of the first countries to detail the impact of COVID-19 on its nursing homes.

When France reported the total number of COVID-19 fatalities on April 8, a technical issue failed to include the number of deaths in nursing homes.

After the French government discovered this mistake, the number of reported nursing home deaths increased by 929, a 52% increase in just two days. 

Benoit Ribadeau-Dumas, the prime minister’s head of Cabinet, described the nursing home deaths as “objectively chilling.”

The French government has decided to take decisive action to slow the spread of COVID-19 in France’s nursing homes. 

This strategy includes the mobilization of hundreds of additional medical staff. 

“We can clearly see things are going to shift from hospitals to residential care facilities, where things are more difficult because they are less structured,” said Ribadeau-Dumas on April 5.