France Emerges as Covid-19 Epicenter as Cases Surge Across Europe
Earlier curfews and weekend lockdowns are being weighed for some hot spots to curb a second wave of infections
PARIS—France has emerged as the epicenter of the second wave of coronavirus infections now sweeping much of Europe, causing hospitals to brace for a surge of new patients and pushing the government to consider tough new restrictions in some places.
The country saw daily cases top 50,000 over the weekend, while the seven-day average of new daily cases has increased by more than 50% over the past week, reaching nearly 36,429 on Monday. That compares with a seven-day average of 69,967 cases in the U.S., whose population is around five times as big.
In response, President Emmanuel Macron could implement tough new restrictions to confront Europe’s largest coronavirus outbreak, as previous measures appear to have been insufficient in containing the spread.
Earlier this month, French authorities ordered a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the Paris region and nine other cities.
The government is now considering earlier curfews in many parts of the country, as well as weekend lockdowns that would sharply curtail individuals’ movements in virus hot spots such as Paris, effectively confining them to home, according to a close presidential aide.
Mr. Macron is meeting with members of his government on Tuesday and Wednesday morning to decide which measures to adopt, the person added. Mr. Macron will address the nation on Wednesday evening.
The surge in infections in France comes amid a sharp rise this autumn in much of the continent, reversing the gains Europe had won by last summer, when draconian, nationwide lockdowns in many European countries pushed infections down to a trickle.
Now, European governments are struggling to respond to the second wave, loath to impose new lockdowns that would compound the economic pain the coronavirus pandemic has already inflicted on their countries, but concerned about the steady rise in hospitalizations and deaths.
Jean-François Delfraissy, a doctor and immunology specialist who leads a scientific board advising the French government on how to tackle the pandemic, said this week that the actual number of new daily cases of infection in France is probably closer to 100,000 a day, and is likely to continue to increase.
“The second wave could be worse than the first one,” Dr. Delfraissy said.
France was slow to react to a steady increase in Covid-19 cases that began in the summer, epidemiologists say. The country had managed to reduce the number of new daily cases to fewer than 400 at the end of spring after a two-month national lockdown that crippled its economy. But the government failed to protect its hard-fought gains as summer drew to a close and colder temperatures approached.
As they reunited with friends and family, and flocked to restaurants and theaters, many people stopped following social-distancing recommendations so closely, epidemiologists and health officials say. Some people even resuscitated the country’s customary double cheek kiss, which had been sidelined in spring.
The nighttime curfew French authorities ordered on the Paris region and nine other cities was extended last week to 38 French départements—or about two thirds of the French population—as the epidemic accelerated across the country. But epidemiologists say it may be too little, too late.
“This is not nearly enough,” said Paris-based epidemiologist Martin Blachier . “People continue to have social interactions.”.
France’s neighbors are also fighting an alarming rise in infections. In Belgium, the average number of new daily cases in the small European Union country jumped by nearly 40% over the past week, local health authorities said on Tuesday. The country reported more deaths per 100,000 inhabitants than any other European country over the past two weeks.
Italy, Spain, Germany and the U.K. have also seen a surge in new infections.
To be sure, greatly expanded testing has surfaced a larger number of infections than in the spring, when the confirmed cases were likely a fraction of overall infections.
“That number could look very different depending on the country’s testing strategy,” said Catherine Hill, a French epidemiologist and biostatistician.
The number of Covid-related deaths in France remains comparable or even lower than in other EU countries, though such figures typically lag infections by several weeks.
But the death toll in France is increasing rapidly. On Monday, 258 Covid patients died in French hospitals, a record since the end of the lockdown in May. At the height of the surge in infections and deaths last spring, nearly 900 people died each day of Covid in French hospitals
Hospital beds are filling up, too. The seven-day average of new hospital admissions has risen by more than 60% over the past week, reaching 1,867 on Monday. In the Paris region, more than two thirds of the beds in intensive-care units are occupied by Covid patients, according to health authorities.
Eric Caumes, who heads the infectious and tropical-disease department at the Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital in Paris, one of the country’s largest hospitals, says his unit is already full.
“We have been running after the virus for weeks. We should have taken stronger measures earlier,” Dr. Caumes says. “Now we no longer have a choice. The country needs to go back into lockdown,” he added.