News
Covid figures for the Alpes Maritimes – The Regional Health Agency has reported 11 new deaths linked to Covid-19 in hospitals in the Alpes Maritimes. In nursing homes, the ARS also announced 8 new deaths since last week. Since the start of the pandemic the coronavirus has killed 1,587 people. The number being admitted to hospital is on the decline from 384 on March 8th to 375 on Tuesday March 9th. The occupancy rate of intensive care beds is falling, on Tuesday 9th March it stood at 88.8% compared to 90.3% the day before.
French government is not expected to increase restrictions or ease measures - Ahead of today’s defense council meeting which is being held at the Elysee Palace to take stock of the health situation, reports say that the French government is not considering restricting or easing the measures currently in place in the fight against Covid.
Today’s meeting is expected to give an update on the situation in the 23 departments of France which are placed under reinforced surveillance due to Covid. Apart from Dunkirk where the weekend lockdown has been extended "for the next three weekends” the government does not envisage any new restrictions. The Head of State is however particularly concerned with the situation in the Île-de-France where the incidence rate and the positivity rate are being closely monitored and following the cancellation of 40% regular surgical procedures in hospitals in the Ile de France 400 beds were made available for patients with Covid-19.
League against cancer warns that thousands of cancer patients will die due to hospital cancelling surgical procedures – Meanwhile however, the president of the League against cancer Axel Kahn, has warned that due to hospitals cancelling regular surgical or medical procedures "thousands of cancer patients will die in the next five to six years”. Kahn went on to say that “people suffering from more serious diseases, which date from before Covid have seen their priority drop".
High speed rail link between Marseille and Nice - A debate is underway until April 15th to decide on the new rail line in the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur with those in favour doing everything possible to “prevent the project from going off the rails”. The project of a high-speed rail link between Marseille and Nice has been subject to thirty years of debates and studies and four projects have already failed to see the light. It started in the 90s when LGV Méditerranée put forward a proposition to the town council of Le Muy in the Var. The saturation of the historic line which dates back to 1860 is a reality and the public debate so far considers that it is necessary. However, the ongoing problem would appear to be the question as to which towns the line would pass through.
Climate change - Figures from Meteo France have shown that the temperature readings for Aix en Provence are rising. As the French government this week debates a “Climate change resilience” law results for Aix have shown that since 1956 the average annual temperature has risen to 2.5 degrees with 2020 being one of the hottest years in Aix since 1900.
France’s Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebari has announced on Twitter that reservations for the Nice-Paris night train are currently available. On April 16th, the line will be back in service after three years of inactivity. The line will every day serve nine destinations Nice, Antibes, Cannes, Saint-Raphaël-Valescure, Les Arcs-Draguignan, Toulon, Marseille-Blancarde and its terminus Paris-Austerlitz station. A one-way trip will take you to the capital in less than twelve hours. Departure is at 7.16 p.m., arriving at 6:55 a.m. at Paris-Austerlitz station.
Tickets start at 19 euros and reservations can be made online at the SNCF website or by phone by calling 3635.
And Finally
A policewoman from Evry south of Paris, has carried out an unusual intervention helping a woman to give birth in the street in front of the train station in freezing temperatures. The police had been alerted at around 6.45am on Monday 8th March by a passer-by. Speaking to French media the officer said “it was the best, it was beautiful and it changes from our daily routine which is sometimes very difficult and that feels good" before adding that “it all happened very quickly”.
The mother gave birth to a baby girl. The father, present at the scene, was accompanied by the police to the Evry hospital center where the woman and her baby had been admitted. The whole family is doing well.
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