Paris (AFP)

France is advancing towards an "inexorable" epidemic, Emmanuel Macron warned on Thursday after a new jump in coronavirus contaminations, with 138 new cases detected on Thursday and a total of 7 dead since January.

"There is a time when, we all know (...) an epidemic is inexorable anyway," said the head of state, who received twenty specialists at the Elysée Palace to "try to stop the arrival, then to slow "the spread of the disease, which now affects all regions of France.

According to Professor Jean-François Delfraissy, specialist in infectious diseases who participated in the meeting, the transition from phase 2, currently underway, to phase 3 - that of the epidemic, which will impose more restrictive restrictions - will intervene "between a few days and a week or two. "

In total, 423 people were infected on French territory, including 138 new confirmed cases and three new deaths reported, which bring the total death toll to seven, said Jérôme Salomon, director general of health, on Thursday evening.

Among the sick, 23 are in serious condition and hospitalized in intensive care, eight more than the day before, he said.

This is the largest increase in cases and deaths in a day since the onset of the crisis.

A LR deputy from Haut-Rhin is hospitalized for signs of coronavirus contamination, parliamentary sources told AFP on Thursday evening, confirming information from the JDD. Its contamination is not proven at this stage.

Thirteen metropolitan regions are now affected, added Mr. Salomon, as well as Guadeloupe and Guyana in the French overseas departments. Only Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion are exempt from proven cases.

The Oise, with 105 cases, presents the most important grouping of the territory. At least two of the three new deceased victims were linked to Crépy-en-Valois, where the first death of a French patient had been recorded, said the Regional Health Agency (ARS).

- Confirmed restrictions -

France is one of the main centers of the virus in Europe, along with Italy and Germany.

The last two regions, kept away from contamination, Corsica and Center-Val de Loire, reported their first cases. For the most part, the newly confirmed positive people, up to Guyana, had participated in the gathering of an evangelical church in Mulhouse between February 17 and 24, during which a RATP agent was also infected, the first confirmed case in within the Régie.

At this stage, France remains in phase 2. Collective restrictions, decided last weekend - and in particular prohibiting gatherings of more than 5,000 people in a closed environment - were confirmed in a decree published Thursday.

The Paris marathon, scheduled for April 5 with around 60,000 registered, is postponed to October 18, said the organizer Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) on Thursday.

Phase 3, when decreed, will involve, among other things: suspension of public transportation, restriction of school gatherings and closings, a set of measures that will have a significant impact on daily life.

The government has already requisitioned the stocks and production of protective masks and intends to control the inflation of the prices of hydroalcoholic gels, suggesting to producers 3 euros per 100 ml.

- Economic cost -

For the time being, the postponement of the municipal elections (March 15-22) is not on the agenda. But many event cancellations have already been announced, such as MIPTV in Cannes, the second largest event in the world dedicated to television professionals scheduled from March 30 to April 2.

The effect of the virus is already weighing heavily on businesses. The Minister of Labor Muriel Pénicaud said that 400 companies had requested technical unemployment measures for 6,000 employees, mainly in tourism and catering.

The tour operators have also asked to be received "urgently" by the government. They note "a drop in activity in February of almost 25%, with an increased decrease in the last week (-60%) and a major risk of cancellations and postponements on recorded orders" they indicate in a statement.

Thursday, a "good hundred" of schools, colleges and high schools remained closed, mainly in the Oise (35,000 students affected) and Morbihan (9,000). Only one closed in Ile-de-France, in Louvres (Val-d'Oise).

© 2020 AFP