Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

HEALTH

Coronavirus: Death toll in France passes 3,000 after record 418 fatalities in one day

France on Monday reported its highest daily number of deaths since the coronavirus epidemic began, saying 418 more people had died in hospital to bring the toll to 3,024.

Published: 30 March 2020 19:32 CEST
Coronavirus: Death toll in France passes 3,000 after record 418 fatalities in one day
Photo: AFP

There are now 20,946 people hospitalised in France with COVID-19, with 5,107 of them in intensive care, the government said in its daily update. 

French health chief Jérôme Salomon said the number of coronavirus patients in intensive care had risen by 424 in the last 24 hours, a bigger rise than on Sunday when another 350 patients were admitted to intensive care.

Of over 5,000 intensive care patients, 34 percent were aged below 60. Sixty-four of them were younger than 30 years old. 

Salomon said 'the number of people in intensive care is the most important” indicator of the epidemic development.

The French death toll includes only those who died in hospital and not those who died at home or in old people's homes, and the total contamination rate only includes those who have been tested.

In recent days authorities have warned that the situation will worsen in the Paris region of Île-de-France, where 954 people have now died, an additional 147 since Sunday.

The map below shows up to date numbers for the number of people in intensive care (réanimation) in hospitals around France.

READ ALSO: In Maps: How the coronavirus epidemic has hit different parts of France

 

As hospitals are becoming increasingly strained, France is anxiously awaiting the coronavirus epidemic to reach its peak and the growth in the number of new cases and patients to slow down.

“We are starting to lack beds across the entire (Paris) region,” said Célestin-Alexis Agbessi, a doctor at the Bichat Hospital in the 18th arrondissement in Paris. “We have transformed all sectors of the hospital to an intensive care unit.”

READ ALSO: When will the coronavirus epidemic peak in France?

Salomon noted that the growth in infections in neighbouring Italy had seen a “relative slowing” in the last days and expressed hope that the figures in France could show signs of improvement at the end of this week.

“Starting this week we should see a decrease in the number of new intensive care patients,” Salomon said.

Currently, the total number of intensive care patients in France outnumbered the number of available beds.

“We have 5,000 intensive care bed in France (..). We are aiming for 10,000 beds,” Salomon said. 
 
He also said that France at the end of the week would be able to do 20,000 tests a day, up from 12,000 today.
 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

LIVING IN FRANCE

How to prove to French authorities that you are alive

If you live in France you'll be used to official requests for all sorts of documents, but one that may come as a surprise is being asked to prove that you're still alive. Here's how to do that.

Published: 19 September 2024 15:57 CEST
How to prove to French authorities that you are alive

Official processes in France usually involve collecting together a big dossier of documents, and requests for certain type of certificate are common (the one for ‘a birth certificate issued within the last three months’ regularly baffles foreigners).

A request that is less common – but still vital – is the request for a Certificat de Vie – a certificate of life, which is basically a piece of paper asserting that you remain within the mortal realm.

Here’s how to get it and why you might need one.

Who needs it?

You only need to provide this certificate if it is requested from you.

The people most likely to get a request for a Certificat de Vie are pensioners. Pensioner providers regularly ask for proof that you are still alive, and if you don’t provide it it’s highly likely that they will stop paying out your pension.

The people most commonly asked to provide this are people living in a different country to the one paying out the pension (so for example people who have worked in France but then moved to another country, or pensioners who have moved to France) but they are fairly widespread for all types of pension.

The other people most likely to ask for it is the benefits office, especially if you are receiving a French Assurance invalidité (disability benefit) or Allocation de solidarité (top-up benefits) – as with pensions, failing to send the certificate can result in your payments being stopped.

Some people may instead be asked for an Attestation sur l’honneur de non-décès (sworn declaration of non-death). This is simpler to provide because it’s not a specific form it’s just something that you write out in formal French declaring that you remain alive, and then sign and date.

You can find templates for creating an attestation in the correct format and legal French here.

How to get it

There are two ways to obtain the Certificat de Vie – in person or online.

If you live in France, you go along in person to your local mairie and ask them to complete the form for you – it’s form Cerfa n° 11753*02, but the mairie staff will know that. Be sure to take with you official ID (ie passport or French ID card), and depending on your circumstances mairie staff may ask for extra paperwork such as proof of address.

Once you have the form, you can send it to whoever has requested it, either by registered mail or a scanned copy uploaded to an online portal.

You can find a sample copy here to show you what the form looks like.

If you live outside France, you can request the certificate at the French consulate, while some police stations will also provide it (depending on the country).

But for those living outside France there is also an online option, which now includes the option to verify your continuing life via your biometric details, meaning that you don’t even need to leave the house.

This would be useful to people who have worked in France for part of their career, meaning they get a partial French pension, but have then either returned to their home country or moved to another country.

In order to use this, you need to download the app ‘Mon Certificat de Vie’ – find full instructions on using it here.

SHOW COMMENTS