Macron says France will have to fight with COVI-19 ‘at least until next summer’

French President Emmanuel Macron says his country will battle with COVID-19 until at least the middle of next year as cases surpass 1mn after the recent spike. French Republic on Friday registered over 40,000 new COVID-19 cases and 298 deaths. Other European nations including Italy, Switzerland, Poland and Russia are also witnessing the new waves. The WHO said the new rise in coronavirus cases in Europe could be a critical moment in the fight against the disease. It appealed the countries to reduce the curve to prevent the health services from being burdened with further influx.

“The next few months are going to be very tough and some countries are on a dangerous track,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. The global corona numbers have reached 42mn cases with 1.1 million deaths.

Situation in France

Speaking on a visit to a hospital in the Paris, Macron said experts are of the view that the virus would be present “at best until next summer”. But he said it was still too early to say whether France would adopt a new phase of full restrictions or partial lockdown. An overnight curfew in the country is being expanded to two-third of France from Friday night for six weeks.

The restrictions could be eased when new infections declined to a rate of 3000 infections per day, said President. A dip last recorded at the end of August. Meanwhile, the head of a Paris hospital group has warned that the second wave of virus could be more deadly than the first.

“There has been a perception in recent months that a second wave does not exist, or that it is a small wave. The situation is the opposite,” Martin Hirsch, the head of the AP-HP hospital group, told local media.

At present most those admitted in ICU’s are older people but contracted the infection after being visited by their children, Hirsch said.

“There are many positive people, infectious, in the streets without knowing it and without anyone else knowing it,” he added. Coronavirus cases currently occupy nearly half of France’s 5,000 intensive care beds.

PM Jean Castex said a further spike was likely, saying: The new cases of toady are the hospitalized patietns of tomorrow. The month of November will be difficult.”