Paris Mayor Calls For School Closures As Patient Numbers In Intensive Care Grow

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Wednesday that schools in France must close as the growing numbers of patients approach peak levels despite the ongoing vaccination campaign

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2021) Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Wednesday that schools in France must close as the growing numbers of patients approach peak levels despite the ongoing vaccination campaign.

"I think that schools must be closed," Hidalgo told French broadcaster BFMTV.

According to the mayor, as of Wednesday, about 20,000 Parisian students are not in class either because they are sick or because classes have been canceled. Additionally, the total number of closed classes reached 850, a significant increase since Sunday evening when the total number of closed classes stood at 255.

"It is very disorganized," Hidalgo said.

The French capital introduced a new health protocol on Monday which said that classes must close for seven days in the case of even one positive COVID-19 case detected as opposed to three positive cases required by the previous protocol.

The total number of hospitalized patients also increased to over 28,000 despite the ongoing vaccination campaign and tightened restrictions, introduced in the country over the weekend. The second wave peak for patients in critical care has also been reached with the numbers exceeding 5,000.

This is not as high as the peak during the first wave which stood at 7,000, however, with a rise of 569 new admissions in just the past 24 hours, the numbers could skyrocket.

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to address the nation with updates on Wednesday evening.