Jean-Francois Delfressy, head of the French government’s scientific council, assessed the possibility of introducing a third quarantine in the country on the air of the BFMTV channel.
According to him, the situation with the spread of new strains of coronavirus infection is comparable to the second pandemic, so a third lockdown is possible. He noted that the South African and British strains have already reached France and have begun to spread internally.
“It may be necessary to introduce a new quarantine, but what type? Quarantine like in November, more adapted, or more stringent, but not quite the same as in March? This is a highly political decision,” the specialist said. He also added that the world is dealing with “a devilish virus much smarter than we think.”
Since January 16, a curfew is in effect in France. All restaurants and cafes, theaters, cinemas and museums are closed in the country. Everyone arriving in the country from countries outside the European Union must pass a coronavirus test before departure and repeat it upon arrival in France, and then go to a mandatory weekly quarantine.
France introduced the first quarantine regime on March 17, 2020, it was in effect until May 11. The second lockdown lasted a month and a half – from October 30 to December 15.
According to the official, the number of people infected with COVID-19 in France exceeded 3 million people, 72.8 thousand people with coronavirus have died.