AHEAD of a key meeting to decide whether to take tougher coronavirus measures in France, health authorities in the country on Thursday night, announced 9,843 new cases of COVID-19.
According to the health ministry, it was the highest number since large scale testing began with 71 new clusters confirmed.
AFP reported that officials are increasingly concerned about the rising number of infections in France, although the death toll and admissions into intensive care units remain far below the heights recorded during France’s lockdown in March and April.
Over the last week, 48,542 new cases have been counted, out of over 1 million tests carried out, with the proportion of tests coming back positive rising to 5.4 percent.
Nineteen people died of Covid-19 infection, the ministry added, bringing France’s toll from the pandemic to 30,813.
French ministers and health experts will meet on Friday to decide what measures are needed, with President Emmanuel Macron vowing they would give a clear idea to the public what can be expected over the next weeks.
“We need to be as transparent and clear as possible,” Macron said on Thursday. “We need to be demanding and realistic but without ceding to panic.”
The head of the scientific council advising the government on the pandemic, Jean-François Delfraissy, said Wednesday that the government needed to make some “tough” decisions and soon.
The government may also have to consider stricter measures on imposing lockdowns for infected people and those they have been in touch with, Delfraissy said.
There remains a danger of a “very rapid, exponential rise” in some places, he said, singling out the French Riviera and Provence.
Prime Minister Jean Castex is currently in a seven-day period of self-isolation, having spent part of the weekend with Tour de France chief Christian Prudhomme, who tested positive for Covid-19 early this week. Castex himself tested negative soon after the encounter.
In Delta State, no case of COVID-19 was recorded on Thursday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said on its verified Twitter handle.
According to NCDC, “On the 10th of September, 2020, 197 new confirmed cases and 5 deaths were recorded in Nigeria.
“Till date, 55,829 cases have been confirmed, 43,810 cases have been discharged and 1,075 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory
“The 197 new cases are reported from 13 states- Plateau (83), Lagos (48), Kaduna (17), FCT (16), Ogun (11), Katsina (7), Imo (4), Edo (3), Nasarawa (3), Rivers (2), Bayelsa (1), Oyo (1), Osun (1)
“A multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 3, continues to coordinate the national response activities.”
All over the world, there are 28,351,973 recorded cases, 914,256 and 20,357,351 recoveries.
