In the Covid-19 intensive care unit of the Antony Private Hospital south of Paris, no bed stays free for long and medics wonder when their workload will finally peak. Paris is going through a third wave of the pandemic which risks putting even more strain on saturated hospitals than the first wave in March and April last year. In a televised speech to the nation on Wednesday night, he promised to increase intensive care capacity nation-wide from 7,665 beds currently to 10,000 -- a jump of 30 percent. Pinto, the nurse, underlined how working in intensive care is "very technical", requiring specialised training and knowledge. Samir Taik, a taxi driver from Paris, walked out of the Antony hospital last week as the 1,000th Covid-19 patient to have benefited from oxygen therapy in the Covid-19 intensive care unit.
