The white plan, a mechanism that allows certain operations to be canceled or staff on leave to be recalled to hospitals, has been launched in Réunion, where the vaccination campaign against the chikungunya epidemic will begin on Monday, with the epidemic peaking in mid-April.
Under pressure, the University Hospital of La Réunion announced that it had activated the white plan "in order to cope with a significant acceleration" in the treatment of patients suffering from chikungunya and a "very significant increase" in emergency activity at its two sites, in Saint-Denis (north) and Saint-Pierre (south).
The University Hospital of La Réunion also reports "saturation of hospitalization capacity, despite the opening of additional beds," as well as "increasing pressure on human resources, with a high absenteeism rate" linked to chikungunya.
The activation of the white plan comes as the targeted vaccination campaign for people with comorbidities or those over 65 is scheduled to begin Monday, the ARS announced. The 40,000 doses of the Ixchiq vaccine arrived on the island this week.
"The most difficult weeks are looming, with the peak expected in mid-April," Overseas Minister Manuel Valls, who will be visiting the island starting Saturday, said Friday morning on franceinfo.
"There is a huge amount of work being done to combat the effects of chikungunya," he added.
People aged 65 and over with comorbidities will be able to get vaccinated free of charge from a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist, the ARS specifies.
More than 20,000 cases have been recorded since the outbreak of the epidemic in August 2024, the vast majority since the beginning of the year. The epidemic continues to progress: according to the latest health report, published Wednesday, nearly 6,000 new cases were recorded during the week of March 17 to 23.
Two people, aged 86 and 96, have officially died from the virus, transmitted by the tiger mosquito. The ARS (Regional Health Agency) has also recorded 31 serious cases, half of which were infants.
– In Mayotte too –
Manuel Valls reiterated on franceinfo that the epidemic "is putting the entire health system under pressure," particularly in the south of the island, the worst-affected area, explaining that he was going there to "show our commitment to this issue."
Last week, the Réunion University Hospital called on residents to only go to the emergency room "in the event of a real medical emergency," explaining that its branch in the south of the island was facing a "situation of maximum capacity tension" due to the influx of patients infected with chikungunya.
In Mayotte, the epidemic is also progressing. Twelve cases have now been recorded, but none have required hospitalization, according to the local Regional Health Agency (ARS). It detected the first case on March 5, and the first indigenous case was confirmed on March 26.
The only vaccine available is the Ixchiq vaccine, from the Franco-Austrian group Valneva, which received European marketing authorization in June 2024.
The impact of the disease remains far below that of the 2005-2006 epidemic, which affected 260,000 people (more than a third of the population) and caused more than 200 deaths.
The last time the "plan blanc" (white plan) was activated in Réunion Island hospitals was in January 2022, to cope with the influx of patients infected with Covid. It was lifted after nearly a month.
After Réunion, Manuel Valls will travel to Mayotte, "which remains in a very difficult situation" following the passage of Cyclone Chido in December, which killed at least 40 people.
A bill to rebuild the small archipelago is to be examined in the Senate on May 19, after the entry into force at the end of February of an initial emergency law for its reconstruction.
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