Faced with "very strong tension" linked to the fifth epidemic wave of Covid-19, the Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL), which brings together 13 public hospitals, announced on Monday the launch of their White Plan.
Decreed with the Regional Health Agency (ARS) to "organize the activity as well as possible", the Blanc plan will allow "to carry out additional deprogramming of activity to ensure the continuity of emergencies and unscheduled care, Covid and outside Covid », Indicates the direction in a press release.
Read alsoCovid-19: no advanced holidays, the health protocol reinforced in schools
The device will also make it possible "to gradually arm additional critical care capacities, making it possible in particular to accommodate a larger influx of patients with Covid-19".
A very strong increase in the incidence rate
According to the HCL, the last few weeks have been marked, in the Rhône and the Metropolis of Lyon, by "a very strong increase" in the incidence rate of Covid-19, which on Monday exceeded the bar of 600 per 100,000 inhabitants in the departement.
"Despite the mitigation of the hospital impact made possible by the vaccination of a large part of the population, the number of patients hospitalized due to a diagnosis of Covid-19 has increased sharply over the past two weeks", adds the direction of the HCL. On Monday, 168 patients with Covid-19 were hospitalized at the various sites in Lyon - against 51 on November 17 - including 52 in critical care units.
In addition to this activity, there is a large flow of patients presenting to the emergency room for other reasons and requiring unscheduled hospitalization, causing "significant tension" in the functioning of hospitals, particularly in the pediatric sectors, according to the same source.
After that of September 2020, this is the second White plan decreed by the HCL since the start of the Covid epidemic.
