More cities in France raise alert level for COVID-19
Four French cities have joined Paris and Marseille on high alert for the spread of the new coronavirus, and the list seems likely to grow soon as infections skyrocket.
Under high alert, bars close and other severe measures are ordered.
Lyon, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne in the southeast, and Lille in the north, went to a state of high alert on Saturday, when health authorities reported almost 26,900 new infections in the last 24 hours. There were just under 5,000 new hospitalizations in the past week, of which 928 were in intensive care units, and the COVID-19 positive rate rose to 11%. Nearly 32,690 deaths from coronavirus have been counted in France, but the actual number is likely higher due to deaths at home and incomplete reporting from hospitals and nursing homes.
As France prepared for an increase in statistics, a query from the National Order of Nurses published on Sunday indicated that a significant number were already feeling tired and fed up from the pandemic, and 37% of participants said they were thinking about changing jobs.
About 59,400 nurses responded to the internal survey carried out from October 2 to 7 on the impact of the health crisis on their working conditions, out of the 350,000 members who are members of the Order of Nurses. A spokesman for the order, Adrien de Casabianca, described the survey as a "consultation", without the typical methodology of a survey.
The figures paint a bleak outlook for the profession and indicate that French medical facilities are perhaps not up to current needs, despite the lessons that should have been learned from the crisis caused by the virus earlier in the year.
Of the nurses in public facilities, 43% believe that they are not collectively better prepared to respond to a new wave of infections, according to the survey. The figure rises to 46% for nurses in the private sphere. And around two-thirds of those surveyed say their working conditions have deteriorated since the start of the crisis.
Burnout is looming, according to the query, as 57% of those interviewed say they have been professionally exhausted since the beginning of the pandemic, while almost half say there is a strong risk that fatigue will affect the quality of care they receive the patients.
For 37% of the nurses who responded, the crisis makes them want to change jobs, and 43% do not know if they will continue to be nurses in five years.
The National Order of Nurses also noted that 34,000 nursing positions in France are currently vacant.
Today, nurses must face an increase in COVID-19 cases and they feel unarmed to do so, said the president of the National Order of Nurses, Patrick Chamboredon, in a statement accompanying the consultation.
Given that nurses are essential for the functioning of the health system, we cannot accept that, he added.
Lyon, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne in the southeast, and Lille in the north, went to a state of high alert on Saturday, when health authorities reported almost 26,900 new infections in the last 24 hours. There were just under 5,000 new hospitalizations in the past week, of which 928 were in intensive care units, and the COVID-19 positive rate rose to 11%. Nearly 32,690 deaths from coronavirus have been counted in France, but the actual number is likely higher due to deaths at home and incomplete reporting from hospitals and nursing homes.
As France prepared for an increase in statistics, a query from the National Order of Nurses published on Sunday indicated that a significant number were already feeling tired and fed up from the pandemic, and 37% of participants said they were thinking about changing jobs.
About 59,400 nurses responded to the internal survey carried out from October 2 to 7 on the impact of the health crisis on their working conditions, out of the 350,000 members who are members of the Order of Nurses. A spokesman for the order, Adrien de Casabianca, described the survey as a "consultation", without the typical methodology of a survey.
The figures paint a bleak outlook for the profession and indicate that French medical facilities are perhaps not up to current needs, despite the lessons that should have been learned from the crisis caused by the virus earlier in the year.
Of the nurses in public facilities, 43% believe that they are not collectively better prepared to respond to a new wave of infections, according to the survey. The figure rises to 46% for nurses in the private sphere. And around two-thirds of those surveyed say their working conditions have deteriorated since the start of the crisis.
Burnout is looming, according to the query, as 57% of those interviewed say they have been professionally exhausted since the beginning of the pandemic, while almost half say there is a strong risk that fatigue will affect the quality of care they receive the patients.
For 37% of the nurses who responded, the crisis makes them want to change jobs, and 43% do not know if they will continue to be nurses in five years.
The National Order of Nurses also noted that 34,000 nursing positions in France are currently vacant.
Today, nurses must face an increase in COVID-19 cases and they feel unarmed to do so, said the president of the National Order of Nurses, Patrick Chamboredon, in a statement accompanying the consultation.
Given that nurses are essential for the functioning of the health system, we cannot accept that, he added.
