France is experiencing the beginning of the fifth wave of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, the country's health minister Olivier Veran said on Wednesday, triggering fresh worries for those who were hoping to see an imminent end to the infection. During an interview with the TF1 television, the French minister confirmed that his country is now at the beginning of the fifth wave of the pandemic, much like “several [other] neighbouring countries”, adding that the circulation of the virus was accelerating.
“Several neighbouring countries are already in a fifth wave of the Covid epidemic, what we are experiencing in France clearly looks like the beginning of a fifth wave,” Veran was quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency in the TF1 interview.
France's health ministry registered as many as 11,883 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the second day in a row that the new case tally has remained over 10,000. New coronavirus cases have also seen double-digit percentage increases week-on-week since around mid-October.
Warning that Covid-19 infection rates are climbing again in the country, French president Emmanuel Macron said earlier this week that those aged 65 and above in the country will need to show proof of a Covid-19 booster jab to be able to visit restaurants, attend cultural events, and take intercity trains. “From December 15, you [over 65s] will need to provide proof of a booster jab to extend the validity of your health pass,” Macron was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency during an address to the nation.
Macron also urged the six million people eligible for the vaccine in France who have not yet even received the first dose to come forward and get the jab. “This is an appeal to responsibility – get vaccinated,” he said. Warning that the pandemic isn't over yet, the French president said that all barrier gestures that protect people from both Covid-19 and other contagious winter diseases should be given more attention at this time.
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