Hospitals in and around Paris have been told to reduce non-Covid treatments by 40%, as demand for intensive care beds (ICU) neared saturation point. On Monday take up of ICU beds for Covid patients was just 83 short of the 1,050 capacity set aside for the region. France has tried to speed up its slow vaccination campaign but remains dogged by high infection rates. It has tried to avoid major lockdowns and its health director said on Tuesday one in Paris would be a “last resort”. Jérôme Salomon told RTL radio on Tuesday this was “not on the agenda” but that the situation was being monitored “day by day”.The head of the regional health authority in the Île de France, or greater Paris, region – France’s most populous at 12 million – said on Monday that it was “very tense”.(BBC)…[+]