French coronavirus intensive care numbers drop below symbolic 5,000

The number of French Covid-19 patients in intensive care has dropped below 5,000 for the first time this month, General Health Director Jerome Salomon said on Friday.

The new figure of 4,870 patients in intensive care marked “an important indicator” of lower stress on the country’s hospital system, Salomon said in a daily briefing.

France has suffered one of Europe’s worst outbreaks of Covid-19, with a total of 22,245 deaths as of Friday – although the death rate has also been slowing.

The country had only 5,000 intensive care beds nationwide when the pandemic hit, but has been ramping up with the aim of reaching at least 14,000.

The highest number of patients in intensive care actually reached was almost 7,200 on April 9, Salomon said.

Earlier, authorities restricted the sale of nicotine products in pharmacies after researchers announced a trial to see if the drug could be used against the new coronavirus.

A decree by Health Minister Olivier Veran, published on Friday, limited nicotine products for ex-smokers in pharmacies to one month’s supply.

The decree said the measure was taken to reduce the risk of people abusing the drug after reading about the research, and also to ensure that supplies remained available to people quitting smoking.

Researchers in the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris suggested, in a paper that has not yet been published, that nicotine receptors in the body might play a role in the Covid-19 disease caused by the coronavirus.

They noted that recent research, also carried out in France but not yet peer-reviewed, suggested that current daily smokers had a much lower likelihood of suffering symptomatic or severe coronavirus infections than the general public.

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The Pitie-Salpetriere researchers, who warned at the same time of the severe general health risks from smoking, are planning a clinical trial with nicotine.

Meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron told representatives of the restaurant and cafe trades that they would have to wait until the end of May to know when they could reopen.

France’s strict lockdown rules are due to be gradually lifted from May 11, but bars, restaurants and other places catering to public gatherings will not be allowed to reopen immediately. (dpa)