French government recognizes escalation of COVID-19 epidemic is ‘inevitable’
By Ge Wenbo
People's Daily app
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The public information campaign has been stepped up in France. (Photo: AFP)

Paris (People’s Daily) -- According to data from the French Ministry of Health, as of Wednesday, 73 new cases of COVID-19 had been recorded in France since Tuesday, making a total of 285 confirmed cases, of which 15 cases were in critical condition and 4 were fatal.

French government spokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye acknowledged that it "unfortunately seems unlikely" that France can avoid moving into stage 3 of prevention.

The current French epidemic prevention is in stage 2 of "suppressing the spread of the virus in the country." Stage 3 means that the epidemic is spreading on a large scale.

As a result, the state will restrict the assembly and flow of people and reorganize medical resources.

France’s multisector has issued new regulations for dealing with the epidemic. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has demanded price control of protective equipment that has risen several times in the market.

The Health Ministry also announced that employees who must take care of their children due to school closures and who do not have the option to work at home are entitled to paid sick leave.

Elsewhere, the Israeli government announced Wednesday that it will bar residents of the four most severely affected countries in Europe, including France, from entering the country without having long-term residency.