France expects more severe COVID cases in next 15 days

France must stay vigilant as more people will be hospitalised in intensive care units in the next two weeks, reflecting a flare-up in COVID-19 infections in recent days, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Saturday.

Veran however ruled out the need for a new nationwide lockdown, telling BFM television that France had other means to fight the virus, including testing.

“I cannot envision a general lockdown. The lockdown was a lid on an overflowing cooking pot,” he said.

“We are not all on the same epidemic wave as last spring. We are on a slower trend but one that must alert us,” Veran said.