'We Are Only At The Beginning' Of The Coronavirus Epidemic, Macron Says
Source: France24
"We are only at the beginning of this epidemic," Macron said after a surprise visit to the SAMU ambulance service at Necker hospital in Paris, while urging the public not to panic and saying the authorities were well organised to face the crisis.
France is the second-worst-affected country in Europe after Italy - which has effectively gone into lockdown to stop the spread of the virus - and Culture Minister Franck Riester and five MPs are among those who have tested positive.
Preventive measures have also been stepped up at the lyse presidential palace, with Macron's cabinet chief ordered to work from home after having been in contact with an infected person. But with only a fraction of the 463 deaths reported by Italy, France has thus far refrained from taking the draconian measures ordered by the Italian state.
Clusters of cases have been identified in half a dozen French regions, with schools closed in three - the northern Oise area, the northeastern Haut-Rhin area and the city of Ajaccio on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. Macron said France was taking a region-by-region approach to the outbreak. "One must not expect that at a given moment, at a given hour in the country, there will be a big shift when everything changes," he said, adding that the government would continue to adopt a "proportional" response to the epidemic...
Read more: https://www.france24.com/en/20200310-we-are-only-at-the-beginning-of-the-coronavirus-epidemic-macron-says
Gatherings of more than 1,000 people have been prohibited since the weekend, leading to museum closures - including the Louvre - and several sporting events and concerts being called off. Madonna's Paris concerts this week as part of her "Madame X" tour were among those cancelled. Read More...
- Macron with officials at Necker Hospital emergency services in Paris.
- 'Macron urges calm after French minister contracts coronavirus.' Reuters, March 10, 2020. PARIS (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron warned France on Tuesday that it was at just the start of a health epidemic as the coronavirus outbreak crept closer to the heart of French political power.
More, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-macron/macron-urges-calm-after-french-minister-contracts-coronavirus-idUSKBN20X2B1
- VIDEO, https://www.france24.com/en/20200310-live-macron-addresses-france-on-coronavirus-crisis
- LIVE: Macron announces European cooperation on coronavirus. French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation at 8pm French time (GMT +2) after a conference call with EU leaders on the coronavirus outbreak. Watch FRANCE 24's live coverage.
Macron said EU leaders have agreed to take "all measures necessary" to avoid economic instability caused by the coronavirus crisis, adding that "at the European level we will be more flexible in terms of state aid". Nevertheless the French president also reiterated that "we musn't give in to panic". Earlier on Tuesday Macron declared that "we are only at the beginning of this epidemic", after a surprise visit to the SAMU ambulance service at Necker hospital in Paris.
France is the second-worst-affected country in Europe after Italy - which has effectively gone into lockdown to stop the spread of the virus - and Culture Minister Franck Riester and five MPs are among those who have tested positive. In France, the virus has killed 30 people and infected 1,606.
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- BBC News, Maps for Coronavirus March 9, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51810673
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