PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th July, 2021) France will send 50 soldiers to its overseas territory of Martinique to help local health workers fight the spread of COVID-19, French Defense Minister Florence Parly said on Friday.
This weekend, the Caribbean territory of France will go under a new lockdown and curfew for at least three weeks due to a surge in coronavirus cases.
"The army will be engaged in fighting COVID-19. Fifty soldiers will be deployed in Martinique to support health employees in Fort-de-France [capital of Martinique]," Parly wrote on Twitter.
Martinique medical workers will be allotted an additional 10 intensive care unit beds next Tuesday, the French minister added.
Martinique's current infection rate tips 1,000 cases per 100,000 people, which is the highest of all French territories and the mainland.
