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France has seen its highest number of coronavirus cases in five months, as Emmanuel Macron insisted the country was doing “ everything possible to avoid another lockdown. ”
Some 7,379 people were found to have been infected with the virus across the Channel on Friday, just shy of the record of 7,578 set on March 31.
The figures represent what the Health Ministry described as an exponential increase just days before millions of children return to school for the first time since March.
It comes as a second wave continues to rise across Europe, with Portugal becoming the latest country to report an increase in coronavirus cases, raising fears that it will be added to the UK government’s quarantine list.
A man is being tested for coronavirus in Paris after a large spike in cases, prompting fears of another lockdown.
President Macron, pictured yesterday with a covered face, said it would be dangerous to dismiss any scenario.
The increase has raised the possibility that the government will be forced to shut down the country again, and President Macron told reporters that it would be dangerous to dismiss any scenario.
“We are doing everything possible to avoid another lockdown, and in particular a nationwide lockdown,” President Emmanuel Macron told reporters on Friday. He added that it would be dangerous to rule out any scenario.
In a weekly review of the pandemic, the Health Ministry said the country was experiencing an “exponential progression of virus transmission.”
Like other hard-hit western European countries, France imposed a sudden and strict lockdown in March, during which most residents were confined to their homes.
The restrictions were gradually lifted starting May 11 after infections dropped dramatically.
Authorities are now looking for ways to limit the spread of the disease without a new lockdown.
On Friday, Parisians were ordered to wear masks at all times outdoors in the capital.
The reopening of schools on Tuesday of next week has been widely anticipated as a big step toward normalcy.
More than 12 million children will return to school, most for the first time in more than five months.
So far, the rapid increase in the number of cases has yet to lead to a similar increase in hospitalizations or deaths.
France has seen its highest number of coronavirus cases in five months after 7,379 people were discovered to have been infected with the virus on Friday.
The ministry reported 20 new deaths from COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the cumulative total to 30,596.
The number of people hospitalized with the disease was unchanged at 4,535 and the number in intensive care increased from six to 387.
Authorities say the virus is now spreading among younger people who are less likely to show severe symptoms.
Two weeks after the French lockdown ended on May 11, the number of new daily infections fell to a low of 115 and a seven-day average low of 272.
But as the country gradually reopened restaurants, museums and shopping malls, the number of new confirmed cases jumped to about 500 a day in late June.
That doubled to around 1,000 a day in late July, doubled again to around 2,000 in mid-August, and jumped above 5,000 this week.
Meanwhile, Border Force officers only aim to monitor less than a third of arrivals at Britain’s airports, it has been revealed.
The government has introduced measures that require passengers arriving in the UK to complete an online form before arriving in the UK from any country.
This includes countries or territories that are not on the mandatory self-isolation list and the guidelines state that the form must be completed within 48 hours of your return to the UK.
But a target of just 30 percent was set for agents who check passenger paperwork upon arrival in the country, a source told The Guardian.
Parisians, photographed today in the French capital, have now been ordered to wear masks at all times outdoors
Passengers entering the UK from various countries, including France and the Netherlands, are expected to isolate themselves and the government uses data from completed online forms to ensure this is done correctly.
However, sources claimed that of the 30% of those inspected by the Border Force, 10% had not completed forms.
Border Force officers are expected to manually scan a QR code at the top of the passenger document to verify that it has been completed successfully when they arrive in the country.
This is also to ensure that the government can contact passengers if someone they have traveled with develops symptoms of coronavirus.
