France coronavirus cases pass 60,000 as cafes and bars remain closed

France is coming to terms with a steadily increasing infection rate among the population despite drastic measures to curb infections. 

On Friday, France recorded more than 60,000 cases nationally, with the total number of confirmed infections now standing at 1.66 million. The staggering number of new daily cases is putting pressure on hospitals and ICUs that are already struggling to manage normal operations. 

With a further 828 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, France may be facing its most difficult winter in memory as hospital admissions continue to rise. 

While new measures, social distancing and travel restrictions have been implemented, infection numbers have yet to come down. However, it is anticipated that there needs to be at least 2 weeks from the time the lockdown started to see if the plan is working. 

With hospitals struggling in several regions including Ile de France, patients are now being transferred to other regions where capacity is being close to breached. With other European countries including Belgium also transferring patients to Germany and other member states, the European Union is facing a difficult challenge this winter in combatting the virus. 

With more cases comes the likeliness of increased hospitalisations. This is why President Macron has insisted on a harsher lockdown to attempt to preserve the capacity in the healthcare system while a large recruitment and training drive takes place to boost the number of qualified nurses and doctors. The question remains, will it work?