A double-deck TGV high-speed train has been used to transport patients sick with Coronavirus from the eastern side of the country to the quieter west.
Twenty patients left Strasbourg on Thursday 27 March to travel to Nantes where the hospitals are less crowded.
They were accommodated on stretchers that had been fastened into the train and were looked after by doctors from Paris during their journey. The train’s buffet acted as the medical centre where any patient who got into trouble could be treated by the on-board staff.
Ten patients were taken from the train in Angers, while the remaining ten continued to Nantes.
In an interview with France 2 television, Dr. Lionel Lamhaut, who is leading the operation alongside French train operator SNCF, said: “The eastern region is now at its peak – every region will experience this over the next few weeks, but at different times. The idea is to take advantage of the lag between regions and to transfer patients from the hard-hit to less-busy areas.”
