French health minister Olivier Veran said the cities of Lyon, Lille, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne would go on maximum Corona-virus alert level from Saturday, as infection rates are spiking and its hospital emergency beds are filling up quickly with COVID-19 patients.
Under the new measures, the cities will have to close their bars for two weeks in coming days, as Paris and Marseille did earlier in France.
Unfortunately, the health situation in France continues to deteriorate”, Veran said, adding that Toulouse and Montpelier could also be moved to maximum COVID-19 alert level from Monday, while Dijon and Clermont-Ferrand would be put on higher alert from Saturday.
On Thursday, authorities reported more than 18,000 Covid-19 infections for the second day in a row. The number of people in intensive care rose by 11 to 1,427.
On Thursday, hospitals in the Paris region moved into emergency mode. The number of Corona-virus deaths rose by 76 and now stands at 32,521.
New Europe / ABC Flash Point News 2020.
Maximum lock down ahead?