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Reuters
French Prime Minister Jean Castex (left) issued a stern warning in Montpellier on Tuesday
Coronavirus cases in France have nearly doubled in the past 24 hours, as Prime Minister Jean Castex warned that the country was going “the wrong way” for two weeks.
The Ministry of Health has reported 1,397 new infections of Covid-19 since Monday. Fourteen people died.
A ban on meetings of more than 5,000 people has been extended until October 30.
Mr. Castex also asked local authorities to further extend the requirement to wear face masks in public.
“The epidemiological situation, which we are following very closely, is getting worse: 2,000 new cases a day compared to 1,000 three weeks ago,” Mr Castex said at a news conference in Montpellier.
“About 25 new clusters are identified every day compared to five three weeks ago,” he added.
It is already mandatory to carry land cover nationwide on public transportation and in indoor spaces, including shops and offices.
Local authorities have the option of setting up mask wear and some have introduced it in open spaces, including Paris tourist hot spots and the banks of the River Seine.
More than 30,000 people have already died from the disease in France, which experienced a major wave of cases in March and April.
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Reuters
It is already mandatory to wear a face mask in some outdoor areas, including in Nice
An additional 14 people have died since Monday, according to the Ministry of Health.
The death toll remains the seventh highest in the world, although it is far below the US and Brazil, where more than 100,000 have died in each country, according to a Johns Hopkins University census.
Following a national lockdown, restrictions were imposed in France in May and June and tourism was allowed, as the summer holiday season began and allowed foreign visitors.
Public meetings of more than 5,000 people, including concerts or sporting events, were scheduled to resume in late August, but Mr Castex has extended the ban until October 30.
Over the weekend, more than 10,000 people attended an illegal rave in remote and sparsely populated mountainous region of Lozere in southern France.
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Mr Castex said that unless people took action, the country would be exposing itself “to a very high risk of epidemic recovery that would be difficult to control.”
On Monday, the Ministry of Health reported that 10,800 new cases of coronavirus had been identified in the past week.
The spread of the virus is particularly prominent among young people and in cities such as Paris and Marseille, it added.
What is happening in the rest of Europe?
- Experts in Spain say the country has once again reached a “critical situation” with the lowest number of infections in Europe. It reported an average daily rise of 4,923 cases in the last seven days, according to news agency AFP. The Ministry of Health reports that there are currently 500 outbreak clusters nationwide. Spain was hit hard by a wave of infections in March and April, and more than 28,000 people died from the disease.
- Russia says it has developed a coronavirus vaccine that is approved for use after just two months of testing on humans. President Vladimir Putin said his daughter had already received it. But the World Health Organization said it had not seen enough information about the vaccine to assess it and it would need more testing before it goes into production
- De United Kingdom reported 1,148 confirmed new cases on Tuesday, which is the highest daily total since June 21st
- Greece set up an evening out for restaurants and bars in popular tourist areas – locations will close between midnight and seven in the morning
- De Latvian Prime Minister urges residents not to even travel to ‘safe’ European countries, citing the rise in affairs
