Coronavirus: France sees ‘exponential increase’ in cases

France has recorded its largest daily increase in coronavirus infections since March, when President Emmanuel Macron raised the possibility of another national shutdown.

Another 7,379 cases were confirmed on Friday, bringing the country’s total to 267,077.

It was the largest daily increase since March 31, when 7,578 cases were tallied at the peak of the first wave.

France was experiencing an “exponential” increase in cases, the Health Ministry said.

The ministry said Friday’s increase follows daily increases of 6,111 on Thursday and 5,429 on Wednesday.

Despite the sharp increase, the number of hospitals and daily deaths remained relatively stable, with young people less vulnerable to the disease making up the majority of new infections, the ministry said.

Another 20 people were confirmed to have died from Covid-19 on Friday, bringing France’s total death toll to 30,596.

Shortly before Friday’s figures were released, Macron said a second national lockdown could not be ruled out if infections spiraled out of control.

However, he said his government was trying to prevent the return of restrictions that would delay the country’s fragile economic recovery.

“Containment is the crudest measure to fight a virus,” Macron said, urging people to be “collectively very rigorous.”

France began easing its eight-week lockdown in May. But some parts of the country, including the capital, Paris, remained under tighter controls.

Powers have been given to local authorities to enforce closure measures, such as closing bars and restaurants, in areas where cases are increasing.

On Friday, the masks were made mandatory outdoors in Paris to combat mounting infections.

How are other European countries doing?

Spain and Germany have also recorded their highest number of 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 Europe office, said young people should not be complacent about the virus.

“It may be that younger people are not necessarily going to die from it, but it is a tornado with a long tail. It is a multi-organ disease, so the virus is really attacking the lungs, but also the heart and other organs. “. ” he said.

As winter approaches, young people will also be in closer contact with older people, he said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Friday that in the coming months things will become “even more difficult than now” as people have been able to enjoy life outdoors during the summer.

A protest against Germany’s coronavirus restrictions was due to take place in Berlin on Saturday, despite a steady increase in cases above 1,000 per day recently.

Spain, one of the first European countries to see a second peak in infections, diagnosed 3,829 new cases on Friday. Before the new school year, the government said schoolchildren aged six and over should wear masks in class.

Hungary announced on Friday that it would close its borders to foreigners starting September 1 to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The country recorded 132 new infections on Friday, the highest daily number since the peak of the pandemic.

Turkey reported the highest number of deaths in 24 hours since Friday, May 17. Another 36 people died, bringing the country’s death toll to 6,245. Meanwhile, the number of new cases per day rose again above 1,500, prompting the government to impose restrictions.

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