France hits new record of daily COVID-19 cases: "We have lost control of the epidemic"
Virus patients now occupy more than half of France's intensive care units, and some doctors are urging tougher restrictions after another record jump in confirmed infections. Dr. Jean-Francois Delfraissy, head of the government's virus advisory body, expressed surprise Monday at the "brutality" of the rise, after a record 52,010 new COVID-19 cases were reported Sunday.
Speaking on RTL radio, he floated the idea of local lockdowns or extending France's 9p.m. to 6 a.m. curfews, which currently cover about half of the country and more than two-thirds of its people.
The number of people hospitalized in France with the virus has climbed sharply in recent weeks, putting renewed pressure on ICUs. COVID patients now fill more than two-thirds of the ICUs in the Paris region.
Dr. Eric Caumes, head of the infectious and tropical diseases department at Paris' Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital, told broadcaster Franceinfo on Monday that "we have lost control of the epidemic, though it doesn't date from yesterday."
France has been among countries hardest-hit by the pandemic, reporting 34,761 virus-related deaths. It is currently registering more than 340 positive cases per 100,000 people nationwide each week.
Delfraissy warns that this latest wave of the virus could be "stronger than the first" and is spreading all around Europe.
Italy's leader imposed at least a month of new restrictions across the country Sunday and the Spanish government declared a national state of emergency that includes an overnight curfew in hopes of not repeating the near collapse of the country's hospitals.