France is at the beginning of a fifth wave of the coronavirus epidemic, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Wednesday. “Several neighboring countries are already in a fifth wave of the COVID epidemic, what we are experiencing in France clearly looks like the beginning of a fifth wave,” Veran said on TF1 television, adding the circulation of the virus was accelerating.
According to Reuters, The health ministry registered 11,883 new cases on Wednesday, the second day in a row with a new case tally of over 10,000. New cases have seen double-digit percentage increases week-on-week since around mid-October.
“Several neighboring countries are already in a fifth wave of the Covid epidemic, what we are experiencing in France clearly looks like the beginning of a fifth wave,” Veran said on TF1 television, adding the circulation of the virus was accelerating.
According to News24, Germany needs further coronavirus restrictions to combat a record surge in infections and “get through this winter”, would-be chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday, calling a meeting with state premiers to decide new curbs.
The country recorded 50 196 new cases in the past 24 hours on Thursday, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) health agency – the first time the figure has exceeded 50 000. Infections and deaths have been climbing steeply since mid-October, in an outbreak blamed on Germany’s relatively low vaccination rate of just over 67%.
Scholz’s remarks came after he faced criticism for his relative silence despite the urgent situation, with detractors saying he was more focused on his Social Democratic Party’s bid to form a ruling coalition with the Greens and liberal FDP following September’s election.
