French PM says second virus wave has started and expands curfew

French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Thursday a vast expansion of the nightly curfew that is intended to curb the spiraling spread of the coronavirus, saying “the second wave is here.”

The curfew imposed in eight regions of France last week, including Paris and its suburbs, is being extended starting Friday at midnight to 38 regions and Polynesia, Castex said. It is to last six weeks before a review, he said.

“In France, like everywhere in Europe, the second wave is here,” Castex said at a news conference, adding that “no one is spared.”

The extension means that 46 million of the 67 million people living in France will be under curfews.

The virus is spreading less rapidly during the second wave but more extensively, the prime minister said. The number of cases of COVID-19 has doubled in France in the past 15 days.

“The situation is grave,” Castex said.

More than 34,000 people have died in France since the start of the pandemic, one of the highest death tolls in Europe. The number of cases reported daily has floated around 30,000.

The prime minister said the national hospital bed occupancy rate is now at more than 44% and that four regions, including Paris, have more than half of their ICU beds filled by COVID-19 patients, including the Paris region.

Some of the regions to go under a curfew have yet to reach alert-level infection rates. Castex said those areas are being placed under curfew for preventive reasons.

“The weeks ahead will be tough … and the number of dead will increase,” he said.