Early this year, parts of Strasbourg was so badly hit that it had to evacuate patients by helicopter.

But in the second wave, it's other regions who are suffering on the city is returning the favor.

The role reversal has seen the same helicopters that in the spring were flying patients out of the area, now fetching patients with the virus from elsewhere on bringing them in for treatment.

Christoph DiStefano is part of the helicopter crew in a In a way, we're giving back in kind because we relied on others during the first wave.

So now we have the resources to receive and treat people on.

It's good for us to take part and take the burden off others because we witnessed the distress we were in during the first wave.

So it's good to relieve the neighboring regions.

Is your washing?

A lack of social distancing during early March caused a host of super spreading events in Strasbourg with intensive care units.

Overwhelmed, patients were flown to other parts of France as well as Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg.

It was a hard lesson learned for the doctors here, and they hope to put it to good use.

The region has just over 300 patients in intensive care, according to French public health data for this week.