France pushes to save lives, with Macron at helm

PARIS

France has seen spiking numbers both in fatalities and infections, but the country continues to wage its own private war against coronavirus epidemic.

Tuesday marks the second wave of confinement in France, a measure President Emmanuel Macron put in place on March 17 to curb the spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. The lockdown was extended until April 15 in an announcement Sunday evening by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.

But the French are nothing if not united. To meet the critical need for lifesaving medical supplies, Macron will visit PME Kolmi-Hopen, a mask factory in Saint-Barthelemy-d'Anjou to the west of Paris on Tuesday. It is the largest of four companies in France to make surgical and filtering face masks.

The estimated need for masks by medical personnel is 40 million per week, a number which does not account for civic workers -- police, firemen, and security workers -- or those who work in the food and delivery industries.

The factory is now operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to raise production.

"I want to show the exceptional mobilization of our industry to meet the needs linked to the COVID-19 crisis," the president said in a statement from the Elysee Palace of his visit.

One billion masks and tons of medical supplies have been ordered from China, where the outbreak began but is largely under control.

On Monday, 10 million masks arrived by Air France cargo at Paris-Vatry airport. One flight will land every day for 14 days with masks and medical equipment.

French public health service is also entertaining the possibility of oxygenating patients at home under remote medical supervision to remove the burden on its overloaded hospitals and intensive care units.

Since the start of the epidemic, 3,024 people have died in France, with 418 in the last 24 hours, with over 45,000 infections, and more than 5,100 in intensive care.

Worldwide, there are 788,522 cases of coronavirus cases, with 37,878 reported deaths. So far, 166,768 people have recovered, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Despite the severity of the virus, most people experience mild symptoms and recover in due time.