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HEALTH-VIRUS-FRANCE
France PM to outline new anti-Covid measures as cases surge
PARIS, Sept 11, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Prime Minister Jean Castex will announce new measures Friday against the spread of Covid-19 in France, after a surge in infections to record levels sparked concerns of a second wave of the epidemic.
Castex will make a statement at 1500 GMT following a meeting of experts and ministers, his office said.
Officials have been increasingly concerned about the high number of infections in France, even if the death toll and admissions to intensive care are way below the highs recorded in March and April.
However there is no indication Castex will announce restrictions as severe as the nationwide two-month lockdown that France experienced from March to May, at the peak of the epidemic.
The health ministry said 9,843 new coronavirus infections were recorded on Thursday, the highest number since large-scale testing began.
France’s total death toll from the pandemic now stands at 30,813.
The head of the scientific council advising the government on the pandemic, Jean-Francois Delfraissy, said Wednesday that “tough” decisions may be required at the meeting.
People at high risk because of old age or health problems including diabetes, obesity and respiratory issues may require a protective “bubble” around them.
There was the danger of a “very rapid, exponential rise” in some places, Delfraissy said, singling out the French Riviera and Provence regions.
Castex himself is in a seven-day period of self-isolation, having spent part of last weekend with the boss of the Tour de France Christian Prudhomme, who tested positive for Covid-19.
BSS/AFP/BZC/2030HRS