Key Points - COVID-19 Outbreak

The epidemic is intensifying in the Hauts-de-France region, where it is spreading to new areas every day, even the least densely populated ones. While the Nord department and the European Metropolis of Lille remain the hardest hit, today the entire region and all age groups are affected by highly active viral transmission. The outbreak is placing increasing pressure on healthcare resources and leading to a concerning rise in new hospitalizations and admissions to intensive care units.

The number of new hospitalizations for COVID-19 has now reached the level we saw in late March, just before the epidemic peaked, and currently, in the region, one in every two intensive care beds is occupied by a COVID-19 patient. It is this severe and rapid worsening of the epidemic, both nationally and in the region, and the strain it places on our hospital intensive care capacity, that justifies the decision to reimpose a national lockdown. The goal of this strong measure is to reverse the current epidemic trend by limiting high-risk contacts as much as possible, in order to protect the most vulnerable people in nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and healthcare facilities.