The last census of the authorities, Friday March 6 at the beginning of the afternoon, reports of 577 people contaminated by the coronavirus, that is 154 more, in less than 24 hours, and two new deaths, which brings to nine the death toll since late January.

Faced with the increasingly rapid increase in positive cases, Emmanuel Macron reiterated Friday morning his conviction that, "anyway, the epidemic will be there".

While visiting a retirement home in Paris, in the 13th arrondissement, he took the opportunity to call to respect "common sense measures" and to protect the most vulnerable, for example by limiting "visits to people to the bare minimum" the most vulnerable, "he said.

"Most" of those who died were over the age of 80, noted Thursday evening the Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon.

The balance sheet in France makes the country one of the main centers in Europe, along with Italy, and it is constantly evolving.

In the Haut-Rhin, cases have increased eightfold in 48 hours, brutally reaching 81 infected people. A hundred schools will be closed as of Saturday and gatherings of more than 50 people in enclosed spaces prohibited, announced the prefect of the department Laurent Touvet.

Oise and Morbihan

A new source of contamination with coronavirus has also been identified in the Val d'Oise, in the Paris region, with "nine confirmed cases", including one "in severe condition" in Méry-sur-Oise, announced the prefect of the department , stating that a "link could have been found between" these people who all live "in a limited geographical area".

According to the Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, "around 150 schools" are now closed in France - not counting the Haut-Rhin -, mainly in Oise and Morbihan, the two main homes, to which s "add" a few special cases ", involving a total of about 45,000 students and just over 3,000 teachers, he said.

For Professor Jean-François Delfraissy, a specialist in infectious diseases, the transition from phase 2 to phase 3, that of the epidemic, will take place "between a few days and one or two weeks".

This new phase could imply more disruptive measures for daily life: suspension of public transport, restriction of gatherings or school closings. But they will be taken gradually and on a case-by-case basis.

Postponement of municipal elections is not on the agenda

"We must be able to hold on. If we take measures that are very restrictive, it is not sustainable over time," said Emmanuel Macron on Friday, arguing for "proportionate" measures.

Collective restrictions, decided last weekend - in particular prohibiting gatherings of more than 5,000 people in an enclosed environment - were confirmed in a decree published on Thursday.

For the time being, the postponement of the municipal elections (March 15-22) is not on the agenda. But many events have already been canceled. The Paris marathon, scheduled for April 5 with 60,000 registered, is postponed to October 18.

With AFP

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