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HEALTH

France records over 500 more coronavirus deaths in 24 hours

France recorded another 541 coronavirus deaths in the country's hospitals in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities up to 10,809 on Wednesday. However, the rise in intensive care admissions continued to slow.

Published: 8 April 2020 20:33 CEST
France records over 500 more coronavirus deaths in 24 hours
Photo: AFP

The total number of coronavirus deaths included 7,632 fatalities in hospitals since March 1st.

The remaining deaths were reported in the country's elderly care homes (known as Ehpad). However far from all the Ehpad nursing homes in the country have reported their death tolls.

France's Director General of Health Jérôme Salomon said that due to a technical fault there was no daily data available from the Ehpads on Wednesday, and that the overall death toll was likely incomplete. On Tuesday he gave the death toll in nursing homes since the epidemic began as 3,237.

Salomon confirmed that a total of 7,148 coronavirus patients were in intensive care in French hospitals on Wednesday.

Of these, 108 were aged less than 30 years old.

A total of 30,375 people were receiving hospital treatment on Wednesday.
 

Wednesday's total number of intensive care patients was larger than Tuesday's (7,131) and included 482 new admissions.

“It's a considerable number,” Salomon said.

At the same time, the total number of patients in intensive care had slowed down over the past week, thanks the rising number of patients whose condition had improved.

On Wednesday the overall net increase was only 17 from the day earlier, the smallest intensive care jump recorded in recent weeks – beating the former record of Tuesday. (+59).

At the beginning of April the number of patients in intensive care was rising by several hundred each day.

“We have doubled our national intensive care capacity,” Salomon said in the evening press briefing. “We're doing everything (..), to ease pressure and support our hospitals.”

Salomon and other health experts have pinpointed intensive care rates as key to monitor the epidemic curve. 

Salomon said he hoped France would see a flattening in its curve of cases in coming days but emphasised that this “plateau is at a very high level.”

Wednesday's daily hospital death toll of 541 was smaller than than the day before (607) and Monday's (605). It was, however, larger than the 441 and 357 reported on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Again, the health director announced some positive news, as the number of people who had completely recovered since the beginning of the epidemic had increased to 21,254. That number only included those who were admitted to the hospital, Salomon said, “not the thousands who had recovered at home.”

France has been on a national lockdown since March 17th and will likely remain so for weeks to come. The current end-date is set to April 15th, but the country's Scientific Council – the body specifically selected to advise the government on their steps to tackle the virus  – told French media this morning that the lockdown should last for several weeks longer.

Salomon said he understood that staying at home was difficult, but said respecting the confinement rules was key in combating the virus.

“It feels like you are being passive, but you are actually making a big difference,” he said.

“By staying at home, you are saving one life every eight minutes.”

France counted 82,000 confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, but that was only those who had been tested and the real number was expectedly higher.
 
Since the beginning of the lockdown, the country has reduced its contagion rate from 2,5 to 1, meaning the average victim now infected less than one person –  
 
“You are our most efficient weapon against this virus,” Salomon said.

“I'm telling you, stay home.”

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LIVING IN FRANCE

5 tips to have the best possible night at France’s Fête de la musique

It can be the most fun day of the year - when France goes music crazy and bands suddenly appear on every street corner - but there are some tips to make your Fête de la musique experience as good as it can possibly be.

Published: 24 June 2024 11:26 CEST
5 tips to have the best possible night at France's Fête de la musique

First, a caveat – this is an entirely personal manifesto based on the things that I have enjoyed over my Fête de la Musique outings over the years. It’s not intended as any kind of hard-and-fast rule and plenty of people will have different experiences.

Feel free to disagree and/or share your festival tips in the comments section below!

1 Ignore the big-name artists

There are always a few big-name artists or concerts in major venues on the Fête de la musique (which happens every year on June 21st).

Ignore them. Sure, stadiums gigs can be great and huge venues can have a wonderful atmosphere – but you can do that any night of the year. It’s not what Fête de la musique is about.

The true spirit of the Fête is the smaller acts who play on street corners, in bars and community venues. They’re free, you can wander between them and stay as long as you like – and there is always something else around the corner.

2 Ignore the big towns

You might think that the big cities have the best music, but if you have the choice, go for a small town or a suburb.

I’ve enjoyed some good Fêtes in Paris, but the best experiences had have been smaller towns or the Paris’ suburbs (Montreuil is good – a commune that carefully cultivates a small-town / village vibe, albeit a very diverse small town where everyone is a hippy, a leftist, or both).

It’s partly a practicality thing – in big cities the acts are spread out and you have to make plans to see something and meet up with friends. In small towns, you just wander along to the main square, then when you’ve seen the acts there, you can saunter up the side streets, each of which will have dozens of bands playing, pausing only to grab a beer and snacks.

But it’s also the vibe; in big cities you can hear good live music all the time and the population is consequently complacent – small towns truly appreciate the Fête de la musique and properly go wild.

Once, in Paris, I was watching a blues band play in the street when a woman tipped water on their heads from her apartment window because she was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Small towns appreciate it when bands play for them.

3 Experiment

There’s a lot of variety on the night, so take advantage – this is your opportunity to hear all kinds of live music from rock to swing, jazz to classical, choirs to DJs.

Didn’t think that a five-piece oud band is your thing? Fête de la musique may change your mind. It’s the night of the year when anything goes, musically, so it’s also the night to try something new.

If you hate it – well it’s free and there’s another band down the street that might be more your thing. But you might discover a lifetime passion for oud music – in fact, by this time next year you might be playing in the oud band. Thanks to the Fête de la musique.

4 Don’t insist on quality

You’ll hear some great bands, but you’ll also hear some that are more about enthusiasm – and that’s all part of the fun.

You’re going to be hearing everything from classic rock to reggae to blues to the above-mentioned five-piece oud band, and as well as the styles the quality may be variable to.

For me, the true spirit of Fête de la musique is the 50-year-old accountant rocking out on his guitar and enjoying the one night of the year when he can dream that if only he hadn’t given up on his high school band, he could now be rich, famous and selling out stadiums, as opposed to filing tax declarations in an office above the florist.

5 Dress comfortably

Some people like to dress up for the Fête and that’s great – it’s a party after all – but the key thing is to wear something that is comfortable and allows you to shake your stuff.

Yes, you will be dancing – you’ll be dancing on street corners, in parks, cafés and perhaps on street furniture if things really get going, and you’ll be dancing with kids, dapper 70-year-old gents and everyone in between.

You need comfortable shoes and clothes that you can really move in.

Dance like no-one is watching. They may be watching, but they won’t be judging. Much. It’s Fête de la musique.

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