France turns to speedy trains to catch up in virus response

This sketch provided Saturday April 4, 2020 by the French Government Information Service (SIG) shows the transfers of patients infected with the Covid-19 virus in France. On high-speed trains fitted out like hospitals and military planes, France has moved hundreds of intensive care patients around the country in an exceptional effort to relieve congested hospitals and stay ahead of the fast-moving virus. But critics say President Emmanuel Macron waited far too long to act and that France, with one of the world's best health care systems, should never have faced this crisis to begin with. (SIG via AP)

Medical staff leave after embarking patients infected with the COVID-19 virus in a train at the Gare d'Austerlitz train station Wednesday April 1, 2020 in Paris. France is evacuating 36 patients infected with the coronavirus from the Paris region onboard two medicalized high-speed TGV trains. The patients, all treated in intensive care units (ICU), are being transferred to several hospitals in Britany, as western France is less impacted by the epidemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (Thomas Samson, Pool via AP)

Medical staff place a patient infected with the COVID-19 virus onto a train at the Gare d'Austerlitz train station, Paris, Wednesday April 1, 2020. France is evacuating 36 patients infected with the coronavirus from the Paris region onboard two medicalized high-speed TGV trains. The patients, all treated in intensive care units (ICU), are being transferred to several hospitals in Brittany, as western France is less impacted by the epidemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (Thomas Samson/Pool via AP)

FILE - This March 27, 2020 file photo provided by the French Army shows evacuated patients infected with the coronavirus aboard a military plane from Mulhouse, eastern France to Bordeaux, southwestern France. On high-speed trains fitted out like hospitals and military planes, France has moved hundreds of intensive care patients around the country in an exceptional effort to relieve congested hospitals and stay ahead of the fast-moving virus. But critics say President Emmanuel Macron waited far too long to act and that France, with one of the world's best health care systems, should never have faced this crisis to begin with. (Dicod via AP)

FILE - In this March 30, 2020 file photo, medical staff transfer a patient infected with the coronavirus into a French military helicopter heading to Switzerland. On high-speed trains fitted out like hospitals and military planes, France has moved hundreds of intensive care patients around the country in an exceptional effort to relieve congested hospitals and stay ahead of the fast-moving virus The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)

A view of an empty train station at the Lyon Saint-Exupery airport, central France, during the lockdown in an effort to control the spread of coronavirus, Wednesday, April 1, 2020. French citizens are only allowed to leave their homes for necessary activities such as shopping for food, going to work or taking a quick walk due to the rapid spreading of the new coronavirus in the country. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Escorted ambulances drive from the train station to an hospital Wednesday April 1, 2020 in Rennes, western France. France is evacuating 36 patients infected with the coronavirus from the Paris region onboard two medicalized high-speed TGV trains. The patients, all treated in intensive care units (ICU), are being transferred to several hospitals in Britany, as western France is less impacted by the epidemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Vincent)

A patient infected with the Covid-19 virus is admitted in an hospital Wednesday April 1, 2020 in Rennes, western France. France is evacuating 36 patients infected with the coronavirus from the Paris region onboard two medicalized high-speed TGV trains. The patients, all treated in intensive care units (ICU), are being transferred to several hospitals in Britany, as western France is less impacted by the epidemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/David Vincent)

FILE - In this April 1, 2020 file photo, medical staff transfer a patient infected with the coronavirus to a train at the Gare d'Austerlitz train station in Paris. On high-speed trains fitted out like hospitals and military planes, France has moved hundreds of intensive care patients around the country in an exceptional effort to relieve congested hospitals and stay ahead of the fast-moving virus. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (Thomas Samson, Pool via AP, File)

FILE - In this April 2, 2020 file photo provided by the French Army medical staff transport a patient infected with the coronavirus to a helicopter at Orly airport, south of Paris. On high-speed trains fitted out like hospitals and military planes, France has moved hundreds of intensive care patients around the country in an exceptional effort to relieve congested hospitals and stay ahead of the fast-moving virus. (Julien Fechter/DICOD via AP)

Medical staff embark a patient infected with the COVID-19 virus in a train at the Gare d'Austerlitz train station Wednesday April 1, 2020 in Paris. France is evacuating 36 patients infected with the coronavirus from the Paris region onboard two medicalized high-speed TGV trains. The patients, all treated in intensive care units (ICU), are being transferred to several hospitals in Britany, as western France is less impacted by the epidemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (Thomas Samson, Pool via AP)

FILE - In this April 1, 2020 file photo, medical staff take care of a patient infected with the coronavirus in a train at the Gare d'Austerlitz train station in Paris. On high-speed trains fitted out like hospitals and military planes, France has moved hundreds of intensive care patients around the country in an exceptional effort to relieve congested hospitals and stay ahead of the fast-moving virus The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (Thomas Samson, Pool via AP, File)