French doctors raise the alarm over number of coronavirus ICU patients

French doctors are raising the alarm over the number of intensive care unit patients with COVID-19 as Europe grapples with a new wave of cases. 

A total of 41 hospital doctors in and around Paris signed an article in Le Journal du Dimanche, a newspaper, cautioning readers that health care workers could soon face decisions on which patients receive emergency treatment and which do not, according to Reuters. 

France ministry data reported 4,872 ICU patients with COVID-19 on Sunday — the highest number recorded this year as part of the country’s third wave, reaching near its November peak, but much lower than the about 7,000 last April. 

The European country documented 37,014 new COVID-19 cases and 131 new deaths, bringing its totals to more than 4.6 million cases and nearly 95,000 deaths. Johns Hopkins University ranks France as having the fourth-most total cases and eighth-most fatalities out of any country. 

Some experts say France’s partial lockdowns in high-infection zones, including Paris, are not enough to combat the spread of the virus and the more contagious variants. French President Emmanuel Macron stood by his call to keep schools open and avoid another complete lockdown at this time, according to Reuters.  

Europe has been immersed in another wave of coronavirus cases as it struggles to effectively distribute and give out vaccine doses across the 27-nation bloc. France has administered COVID-19 vaccine doses to almost 7.8 million people as of Sunday, according to the health ministry. 

U.S. health officials have warned that Europe could show the U.S.’s future of an “avoidable surge”  if Americans do not follow coronavirus restrictions.