"
We will still need reinforcements
": if Martinique, under strict confinement, is experiencing a "
relative stabilization
" of the Covid-19 epidemic at a "
very high
"
level
, the situation remains "
extremely tense
", explains to AFP the director of the ARS of the island Jérôme Viguier.
To discover
Prime Macron 2021: how does it work?
Read alsoCovid-19: the reasons for the rejection of vaccines in the West Indies
Martinique, affected by "
a Delta wave of enormous violence
", is currently experiencing an incidence rate "
around 1,200
" per 100,000 inhabitants, "
in slight decrease, (...) but at a really very high level
" , he said in an interview with AFP.
"
We set up on a plateau
" but we "
must not
", "
because that means that we will have a continuous massive flow of people in hospital structures, and who will saturate the city medicine
", describes the head of the ARS.
Hospitalized children
Currently, he recalls, Martinique has "
more than a hundred critical care beds
" and "
almost 500 medical beds (...) and it is still barely sufficient
". "
Especially since we see the arrival of forms of Covid in children that we did not have until now
" and in pregnant women, sometimes forced to undergo premature cesarean sections, he explains. While the severe forms in children are relatively rare, “
the circulation of the virus is so important that there are 10 children hospitalized in the pediatric ward, including one in intensive care. This is something that we had not seen at all during the previous waves,
”says Mr. Viguier.
For him, “
the situation is extremely tense.
It is holding up, in quotes, thanks to all the reinforcements that came to support the Martinican healthcare teams
”.
"
Every day, the CHU pushes the walls in order to create new services, to be able to accommodate more patients, but at one point that finds its limits, which means that the situation remains extremely worrying,
" he warns. as much as "
in almost all the overseas departments, the situation is very degraded
".
Read also Covid-19: in Guadeloupe, the Pointe-à-Pitre hospital is overwhelmed
He recalls in particular that "
the neighbors of Guadeloupe have an incidence rate which is twice that which we have here, and will have an impact on the health system which will be really very important
", and is also worried about the epidemic which "
resumes in Guyana
".
During previous waves, Martinique had supported these two territories.
"
Refrigerated container
"
To cope with the hospital tension, the island received "
military support, support from the health reserve, support from national solidarity (...) from all hospitals, up to 400 caregivers
". In the territory of about 370,000 inhabitants, "
we will still need new reinforcements
". "
If they are ever disengaged, we will find ourselves in a completely dramatic situation
," he continues.
Especially since with nearly "
30% of first injection
", vaccination "
is largely insufficient
", even if "
this rate is increasing. We feel a recovery, a certain enthusiasm for vaccination, probably also linked to the pressure of this epidemic and its consequences, which are a real slaughter
”. He recalls that in Martinique, the maximum incidence rate reached in previous waves was only 300 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
“
At the end of the 3rd wave, says Mr. Viguier, there were 95 deaths recorded in the hospital
”.
Now "
the death counter is running much faster
".
"
To date, we are, in cumulative, to 278 deaths occurred in the hospital
".
In addition, there are those which occur in the city or in nursing homes, with a death certificate often slower to register, "
but we estimate around 30% more deaths occurring outside the hospital
".
Read also Covid-19: saturated, Guadeloupe evacuates patients to the metropolis
This very high death toll has led to "
a powering up of all morgues in health establishments and funeral directors
". To strengthen them, "
a refrigerated container
" to accommodate the bodies will be "
set up at the CHU very quickly
".
