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Reuters
The French health ministry said the country had recently seen a “fatal” increase in cases
France has recorded its biggest daily increase in coronavirus infections since March, as the prospect of a nationwide lockdown raised President Emanuel Macron.
A further 7,379 cases were confirmed on Friday, bringing the country’s total to 267,077.
It was the largest daily spike since March 31, with 7,578 cases lengthening at the top of the first wave.
France has seen a “fatal” increase in cases, the health ministry said.
Friday’s increase represents a daily increase of 6,111 on Thursday and 5,429 on Wednesday, the ministry said.
Despite the sharp increase, the number of hospitals and daily deaths remained relatively stable, as young people less susceptible to the disease make up the majority of new infections, the ministry said.
Another 20 deaths were confirmed on Friday with Covid-19, bringing the total number of deaths in France to 30,596.
Shortly before Friday’s figures were released, Mr Macron said a second national lockdown could not be ruled out if the infection got out of control.
However he said his government was trying to lift the sanctions which would lead to the country’s fragile economic recovery.
“Content is the most brutal of the measures to fight the virus,” said Mr MacCrone, urging people to be “collectively very tough”.
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Reuters
In Paris, the capital of France, wearing a face mask is now mandatory
France began easing its eight-week-long lockdown in May. But parts of the country, including the capital Paris, remained under tight control.
Local authorities have been empowered to implement lockdown measures such as closing bars and restaurants in areas where cases are on the rise.
On Friday, masks were made mandatory outside Paris to combat the growing infection.
How are other European countries doing?
Spain and Germany have also recorded the highest number of their daily cases since spring in recent days, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of a resurgence of the disease in Europe.
On Thursday, Hans Kluge, director general of the WHO’s Europe office fees, said young people should not be complacent about the virus.
“It may be that small people are not dying from it, but it’s a long-tailed tornado. It’s a multi-organ disease, so the virus is actually attacking the lungs, but also the heart and other organs,” he said.
As winter approaches, young people will also be in touch with older people.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Friday that things would become “even more difficult than now” in the coming months, as people would be able to enjoy outdoor life during the summer.
Protests against Germany’s coronavirus ban were set to take place in Berlin on Saturday, despite a recent rise in more than 1,000 cases a day.
Spain, one of the first European countries, saw a second increase in infections, with 8,2929 new cases diagnosed on Friday. Ahead of the new school year, the government said school children aged six and over must wear masks in class.
Hungary announced on Friday that it would close its borders to foreigners from September 1 to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The country recorded 132 new infections on Friday, the highest daily number since the epidemic peaked.
Turkey has the highest number of deaths in 24 hours since Friday, May 17th. Another 36 died, pushing the country’s death toll to 6,245. Meanwhile, the number of new cases rose daily to over 1,500, prompting the government to impose sanctions.
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