Additional medical personnel and oxygen supplies are arriving on the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, which are struggling with a surge in COVID-19 infections, reports Euronews.
Sixty COVID-19 deaths were recorded in hospitals in Guadeloupe since August 9 — out of a total of 357 since the beginning of the pandemic. The incidence rate has shot up to 1,912 cases per 100,000 population with the Delta variant currently accounting for more than 92% of new cases.
At the university hospital, 40% of the beds are now occupied by COVID patients, and the morgue is saturated, Director-General Gérard Cotellon told AFP on Wednesday.
Nearly 70 patients are in intensive care units with the regional health agency (ARS) flagging that 98% of them were not vaccinated.
In Martinique, the incidence rate stood at 1,148 cases per 100,000 inhabitants on Wednesday.