More than 31,000 new cases in one week between January 8 and 14 (including 27 deaths), an average of 4,500 contaminations per day – two-thirds of which were caused by the Omicron variant –, a record number of hospitalized patients. Reunion had never experienced such figures since the start of the health crisis. The weekend of January 15 and 16 was a “hell in the emergency room”, testifies a doctor.
While a decline in the epidemic seems to be taking shape in certain metropolitan areas and the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, unveiled, Thursday, January 20, his timetable for lifting restrictions on health measures, Reunion Island is experiencing a “very violent acceleration” of viral circulation, notes Doctor Philippe Ocquidant, director of crisis medicine at the university hospital center (CHU) of La Réunion and head of the neuroresuscitation department in Saint-Pierre. Faced with a wave of unprecedented magnitude, the directors of Reunion hospitals – the CHU of Saint-Denis and Saint-Pierre, the West Reunion Hospital Center (CHOR) in Saint-Paul and the East Reunion Hospital Group (GHER) in Saint -Benoît – triggered the white plan on Wednesday, which makes it possible to mobilize staff on leave or to call on the health reserve.
“It is a decision that has been delayed as long as possible and which is now essential, observes Lionel Calenge, director of the CHU and the GHER. We went as far as we might. New means are needed to ensure continuity of care. » The occupancy rates of hospitals in medicine and intensive care have regularly reached 90% for more than a week. These services remain under great strain despite the increase in their reception capacities, with a total of 108 intensive care beds for 860,000 inhabitants. Due to the insularity of Reunion and its distance from mainland France (eleven hours by plane), the transfer of patients to other regions remains a very difficult solution to implement.
Metropolis Reinforcements
To support the new influx of patients with Covid-19, half of the CHU’s operating theaters have already been closed. This leads to the deprogramming of nearly 500 surgical procedures per week, underlines the management of the CHU. “We have a lot more patients and fewer staff,” also notes Dr. Ocquidant. The epidemic outbreak affects 3% of CHU caregivers. “If this continues on this path, we will no longer be able to keep enough beds open,” worries Lionel Calenge, pointing out that the staff has already “has shown, since the beginning of the pandemic, dedication and solidarity”.
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