A German army A400M landed at around 12:20 p.m. on Strasbourg airport to evacuate two coronavirus patients to a hospital in Ulm, in the southwest of Germany. It is the first evacuation of French patients carried out by German military means. The plane must take off quickly to reach Stuttgart from where the two patients will be transported to the military hospital in Ulm.
Read also: LIVE - Follow the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic and containment in France
According to Amélie de Monchalin, French Secretary of State for European Affairs, interviewed on France Inter, 80 French people suffering from the coronavirus were hospitalized in Luxembourg, Germany and Switzerland. She then welcomed the cooperation with Berlin, stressing that "Germany offers us additional beds" and that it had delivered respirators to France "again yesterday" .
Read also: Lack of solidarity is a "deadly danger" for Europe, according to Jacques Delors
"We are by our French friends," tweeted German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. "With my French counterpart @florence_parly, we have agreed that our air force will transport patients seriously affected by Codid-19 so that they can be treated in our German military hospitals" .
Read also: Coronavirus: first evacuation by military helicopter from Metz to Germany
Read also: Coronavirus in Germany: Merkel invokes history but avoids martial postures