By Antony Paone

PARIS (Reuters.) – Abigael, a Paris-based emergency ward physician, is spending more time looking for beds for COVID-19 victims in hospitals nearby or at her private clinic in Paris.

Although Omicron has a lower chance of serious disease than the Delta variant according to scientific data, the high number of Omicron infections mean that France’s healthcare system remains under pressure, as elsewhere in Europe.

Staff shortages have resulted in fatigue among medical staff. This is due to resignations as well as an increase of nurses and doctors contracting the disease and being on sick leave. Patients are being transferred to other wards as a result of crowded wards.

Debit explained that “we have fewer beds on our intensive care unit and fewer in our COVID department than we had in the first wave” during patient check-ins at Saint Camille, where she is employed.

She receives patients in need of emergency care. Ten of her 13 beds are occupied by COVID-19 residents. The 29-bed COVID unit at her hospital is fully occupied. There are approximately 80% unvaccinated patients.

France recorded a record 368.149 nL8N2TR424 case on Tuesday. While the number of COVID-19-related patients requiring hospitalisation has reached a record high of 8 months, it is becoming harder for staff to provide care.

There are employees on sick-leave. And there have been resignations…during the various COVID waves, so there is a real weariness,” Debit said.

After the outbreak, the hospital’s 13 ICU beds were reduced to seven.

Paris saw hundreds protest over their working conditions and wages Tuesday. The unions claim that the outbreak has not accelerated a decline over years in conditions at French hospitals.

Staff are tired because of COVID, which is just a convenient way to make it seem like an excuse. “Staff have been exhausted since years,” Isabelle Pugliese, a medical assistant at the rally.

Olivier Veran (Health Minister) said it was not yet possible to tell if Omicron surge reached its peak in France.

Macron, President, is focused on getting guns in arms and tightening controls on unvaccinated persons’ freedoms.

Nicole Legaye from Patient Nicole said that although she would have liked to be inoculated, it was impossible due to severe allergies.

The 70-year old said, “I am not anti-vaxxer.” She said, “When they told me I could not be vaccinated,” with a resignation shrug.