Moments ago, French President Emmanuel Macron said that his country is bracing for a potential new lockdown as it sees a surge in infection cases of the novel coronavirus.
His remarks came in a televised address this evening, which aimed at stopping a fast-rising tide of coronavirus patients in French hospitals.
He said that the second wave of infections could be worse then the first wave in France.
According to AFP, it is over the past few weeks that France has been reporting tens of thousands of new infections per day and is now recording more than 380 new cases each week per 100,000 people.
Health officials recorded 523 virus-related deaths in 24 hours Tuesday, the highest daily tally since April, bringing the country's overall death toll to 35,541, the third-highest toll in Europe after Britain and Italy.
On their part, many French doctors had been calling for a new nationwide lockdown, noting that 58 percent of the country's intensive care units are now occupied by Covid-19 patients and medical staff are under increasing strain.
“The government didn’t take into account what the first wave was and didn’t learn all its lessons,” Frederic Valletoux, president of the French Hospital Federation, said Wednesday on France Inter radio.
He called for a full, month-long lockdown, saying “this wave will be much more devastating for the hospital system. Hospitals won’t manage if we don’t take drastic measures.”
Some French doctors, nurses with Covid-19 asked to work as country's cases rise
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