Coronavirus: France braces for ‘epidemic’ as cases double to 38
- Country on high alert after neighbouring Italy becomes new front in global fight to contain outbreak
- First case in the Netherlands reported, a patient who had travelled to northern Italy
The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in France has leapt from 18 to 38, Health Minister Olivier Veran said late on Thursday.
Twelve cases in total are linked to a victim from northern France who died on Tuesday night, Veran said. Three of them were on a military base.
“This evening, we therefore remain at the phase of intervention which consists of braking, slowing down, retarding, limiting the spread of the virus on French territory,” he added.
Earlier on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said a coronavirus epidemic in the country was inevitable in as his government and others worldwide bolstered measures to fight the spread of infection.
“We have a crisis before us. An epidemic is on its way,” Macron, dressed in a suit and without any protective gear, told a group of doctors.
The virus, which causes a disease known as Covid-19, has infected more than 80,000 people and killed nearly 2,800, the majority in China. Its rapid spread elsewhere in recent days has met the definition for a pandemic.
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The first coronavirus infection in the Netherlands was also detected on Thursday, in a patient who had travelled to northern Italy, the national public health institute announced.
Schoolchildren who have travelled to those zones have been told to stay at home for two weeks.
Two people have died from the coronavirus so far in France – an elderly Chinese tourist and the 60-year-old teacher.
“We are only at the beginning,” Macron said.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Switzerland has risen to four, the country’s health authority said on Thursday.
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In the western canton of Geneva one person was tested positive for the virus while it was also confirmed in a couple in the southeastern Alpine canton of Grisons, it added.
“All three patients are isolated in the hospital. Their condition is good,” the Federal Office of Public Health said.
The two patients have been transferred to specialist infection centres after contracting the virus in Italy and on the Spanish island of Tenerife, said Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer.
The patients are in hospitals in London and in Liverpool in northwest England.
Doctor Tom Wingfield, senior clinical lecturer at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, said the two new infections were “not surprising”.
They “do not change the understanding of what the outbreak will look like in the UK,” the expert said.
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“There are likely to be some more cases in the coming weeks, but the UK public can be reassured that we have experienced teams in place to manage the isolation and care of people diagnosed with coronavirus and perform robust tracing and screening of their contacts.”
Many new cases of the novel coronavirus that have emerged across Europe are linked to the continent’s coronavirus hotspot in northern Italy, amid warnings from health experts to rein in hysteria as the virus continues its march.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse and DPA
