English variant in 10% of French COVID-19 cases -govt

The variant of COVID-19 first discovered in England, which is said to have a higher rate of transmission, has been found in 10% of the COVID-19 cases in France, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said. Attal reiterated in an interview with France Inter radio on Thursday that the option of a stricter lockdown remained open to President Emmanuel Macron's government, but he did not provide more specific detail.

France reported nearly 27,000 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, its biggest one-day jump since mid-November when France was in its second full lockdown, indicating current curfew measures are not containing the virus.