“There are areas where the virus is circulating too quickly, especially where it’s circulating a lot among the elderly who are those most vulnerable, and where we’re seeing more and more beds occupied in intensive care units,” Macron said during an interview with France 2 on Wednesday evening.
The French president was speaking on a visit to the southeastern town Breil-sur-Roya, after devastating floods have left at least five people dead and scores of houses destroyed.
On the same night France reported a record-high daily number of new Covid-19 cases along with 80 new deaths.
Santé Publique France on Wednesday recorded 18,746 new Covid-19 cases, the most cases ever recorded in one day and beating the previous of 16,972 set on October 5th – although testing has been greatly expanded since the first wave of cases in March and April.
“We will have to move towards more restrictions, like those we have seen in Bouches-du-Rhône [the département containing Marseille] and Paris and its suburbs,” Macron said.
EXPLAINED: How does France's Covid-19 alert system work?
Macron could be setting the scene for what will happen on Thursday evening, when Health Minister Olivier Véran will hold his weekly update on the general Covid-19 situation in the country.
Currently, Paris and its surrounding suburbs as well as the Marseille metropole are the only areas of mainland France on “maximum alert”.
IN DETAIL: The new Covid-19 restrictions to be enforced in Paris
1/2 Au vu de la pression sur les lits de réanimation et d’hospitalisation conventionnelle, j’ai demandé aux directeurs des établissements de santé de la région de déclencher leur plan blanc pour mobiliser toutes leurs ressources et anticiper les jours à venir.
— Aurélien Rousseau (@aur_rousseau) October 8, 2020

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