France on COVID-19 Alert, 'Maximum Vigilance' Zones Expanded to Lyon and Others

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] In France, following the Paris metropolitan area, four cities?Lyon, Lille, Grenoble, and Saint-?tienne?have been additionally designated as highest alert zones for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). In France, new confirmed cases have recorded 18,000 for two consecutive days, and the spread continues.

According to major foreign media on the 8th (local time), Olivier V?ran, Minister of Health, stated at a briefing that "in France, more and more people are getting infected with COVID-19 every day, more and more people are getting sick, and symptoms are becoming severe enough that more and more people need to be hospitalized."

In these areas, operations of bars and similar establishments will be suspended for at least two weeks starting from the 10th. In restaurants, the number of people per table is limited to six. The highest alert level is designated when the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases exceeds 250 per 100,000 population, elderly patients exceed 100 per 100,000 population, and 30-60% of intensive care unit beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients.

Previously, Marseille, the second largest city in France, and its surrounding areas, French Guadeloupe, as well as the Paris metropolitan areas including Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Val-de-Marne were designated as highest alert zones.

In the Paris metropolitan area, including Paris, more than 40% of ICU beds in local hospitals are occupied by COVID-19 patients.

The Ministry of Health announced that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in France increased by 18,129 from the previous day to 671,638. This is slightly lower than the record high of 18,746 new cases recorded on the 7th but remains in the 18,000 range for two consecutive days. The death toll increased by 77 to 32,521.

This spread is expected to continue until next spring. Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy and Finance, who attended the briefing, said, "The virus will not disappear overnight," and "We must learn to live together."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.