France is struggling to contain the widespread of the deadly coronavirus and the hospitals are facing the effect of it.
Coronavirus hospitals in Paris are running up to their full capacity, leading to a massive shortage of beds, especially in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Considering this, France's government announced plans to evacuate nearly 100 coronavirus patients from the ICUs of Paris hospitals.
The government is hoping to avoid another lockdown through these transfers, while the officials prepare to speed up the vaccination programme.
"By the end of this week, probably around 100 patients will have been evacuated from the Ile-de-France region," government spokesman Gabriel Attal said.
Starting with the process, two patients of age 33 and 70 were airlifted to the southwestern city of Bordeaux.
Attal also reported that two specially equipped trains will transfer "several dozens of patients to regions that today are under less strain" from the coronavirus pandemic.
While the government is starting the process of evacuating patients from Paris, people are worried if the capital city will undergo another lockdown.
"We are doing everything we can to not have to take more difficult, more restrictive measures," Attal said.
However, he also was careful to not dismiss the idea of lockdown completely. "We will always take whatever decisions are necessary," WION cited him as saying.
A weekend lockdown has already been ordered in the northern Pas-de-Calais region where COVID patients were being transferred from the more crowded area.
