France’s top medical advisor said on Sunday that a third national lockdown would probably soon be needed to combat coronavirus in the country.
A strict curfew was implemented last weekend, but cases continue to climb.
Prof Jean-Francois Delfraissy, head of the scientific council that advises leaders on Covid-19, said “there is an emergency” and this week was critical.
He called for swift government action, amid rising concerns about the spread of new variants of the coronavirus.
Prof Delfraissy said data showed a new more transmissible variant first detected in the UK now makes up between 7-9% of cases in some French regions and will be hard to stop.
He said the country was in a better situation than others in Europe, but described the new variants as the “equivalent of a second pandemic”.
“If we do not tighten regulations, we will find ourselves in an extremely difficult situation from mid-March,” the advisor warned during an interview with BFM television.