The highly contagious Delta variant now represents around 40% of new COVID-19 infections in France, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday, and could jeopardise the summer if a fourth wave of infections is allowed to build.
Attal said forging ahead with the vaccination campaign was the best way to avoid a return to tough curbs on movement and socialising. He urged any hesitant citizens to get the shot.
The share of this variant has doubled each week over the past three weeks, from 10% of infections three weeks ago to 20% last week and 40% this week, he said.
"This variant is dangerous and quick and wherever it is present, it can ruin the summer," Attal told a news conference.
Attal said COVID-19 infection rates were surging higher in 11 metropolitan regions, and that the situation was deteriorating rapidly in the Ile-de-France region around Paris, with infection rates in the capital nearly doubling over the past week.
"We are getting more and more warning signals and we could see the same trajectory as in some neighbouring countries," he said.
Cases in Britain are soaring, while in Spain and Portugal the accelerating infection rate has already forced authorities to impose new restrictions such as curfew measures.
Senior ministers will meet on Monday to discuss the threat of a fourth wave and Attal said the government was considering all possible scenarios, include possible compulsory vaccination for health workers.
From a seven-day average of more than 42,000 new infections per day mid-April, the infection rate had plunged to just over 1,800 at the end of June. But since then that trend has reversed. The number of daily new cases is back above 2,500 again, and increasing at double-digit percentage rates per week.
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While the rest of the world is keeping to some form of restrictions and travel restrictions and testing etc, the uk is not and dropping all restrictions while at the same time sending millions of poles off to all corners of the world where they are potentially allowed in. Sounds like the uk is the next copied factory and they are sending off its people to infect other countries ! dont politicians see this impending global human disaster ! . If the British Government wishes to drop all its restrictions for a political agenda and mass experiment on its own people and take the risk of its own peoples lives then thats one thing for the British public to sort out agree with or not. But to allow British to travel with nearly no restrictions is asking for trouble creating a huge disaster in a few months in the EU and beyond and then not a single politician will take the blame and be held accountable .
Please call it the Johnson Variant, as it could have been avoided had Boris Johnson not dithered for 3 weeks and closed the UK borders when he should have , due to his personal political ambitions to go to India himself at the time to do trade deals.....! It baffles me why the Spanish government and Armengol listen to UK politicians who all have only political ambitions in mind and make reckless decisions !