France will go into a 4-week lockdown to combat rising coronavirus cases, President Macron announced

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday that France would enter a four-week lockdown starting on April 3, extending the current lockdown as hospitals struggle to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases.

During a televised address, Macron said, "We will lose control if we do not move now."

Macron said that in the new lockdown set to go into effect Saturday, schools will be closed for three weeks, a nationwide curfew will be imposed from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. and "non-essential" shops will shutter.

The new restrictions also require that people have a certificate to travel further than 10 kilometers.

Ten days ago, Macron placed limited lockdown restrictions in 16 regions of the country, as France deals with a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, namely from the variant first found in the United Kingdom.

Macron added that just over 10% of the French population has been vaccinated, and daily new COVID-19 infections in the country have doubled to 40,000. The number of people with COVID-19 in the intensive care units in France stood at 5,000 yesterday, which is higher than the previous peak recorded during a lockdown imposed in the fall.

During the address, the French president also announced an expansion of the country's vaccination efforts, with all 60-70 year-olds becoming eligible starting April 16, all 50-60 year-olds becoming eligible from May 15, and all people under 50 becoming eligible in mid-June.

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