Fears A Third Lockdown May Be Imminent as France's COVID-19 Cases Surge - FARS

The daily number of new COVID-19 cases in France stayed above 20,000 on average for the fourth straight day on Tuesday while hospitalisations kept growing to reach an eight-week high of 27,041, increasing fears of a third national lockdown.

President Emmanuel Macron still hopes a 6 pm curfew put in place 11 days ago will be enough to rein in the surge in new infections prompted by the emergence of more contagious variants of the coronavirus, Reuters reported.

Despite calls from some doctors and medics for a new lockdown, government minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said earlier there was no need to make a decision on such a measure at this stage.

Macron will head the weekly cabinet meeting on Wednesday and a government COVID-19 press conference is scheduled for Thursday.

Health authorities reported 22,086 new coronavirus infections over the previous 24 hours on Tuesday, up sharply from Monday's 4,240, giving a seven-day moving average, which averages out daily data-reporting irregularities, of 20,230.

The government needs that figure to go below 5,000 to regard the pandemic as being fully under control.