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Coronavirus-France ready to take tougher measures if necessary: health minister – Metro US

Coronavirus-France ready to take tougher measures if necessary: health minister

French Health Minister Olivier Veran speaks during a news conference
French Health Minister Olivier Veran speaks during a news conference on the current strategy for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in Paris

PARIS (Reuters) – The French government is ready to take tougher measures if current restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus fail, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Wednesday.

Last week, France imposed a month-long lockdown on Paris and parts of the north after a faltering vaccine rollout and spread of highly contagious coronavirus variants forced President Emmanuel Macron to shift course.

“We think these measures can help reverse the trend. If this does not happen, we will take tougher measures. We still have a few difficult weeks ahead of us,” Veran told the TV show “Quotidien” on the French TMC channel.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Leslie Adler)