Paris may soon enter another blockade, as new variants of the coronavirus cause intensive care units across the city to be filled.
The Associated Press reports which French officials consider another blockade, as special medical planes moved patients out of Paris to less saturated regions.
“If we have to block ourselves, we will,” Jérôme Salomon, director of France’s public health agency, said on Sunday. “The situation is complex, tense and getting worse in the Paris region.”
The AP notes that the French government has relied on curfews in recent months to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, but Salomon said a curfew across the country at 6pm “was not enough”.
According to Salomon, there are currently more ICU patients in France (around 6,300) than the number of ICU beds the country had before the pandemic.
The European Union, which includes France, has approved four vaccines for use in its member countries, including those from Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), Frances has confirmed nearly 4 million cases of coronavirus and nearly 90,000 deaths, which is one of the highest in the world.
In February, the French government announced tighter coronavirus controls on the border with Germany as part of efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.