UK variant of COVID-19 now accounts for 25% of infections in France -minister

The British variant of the COVID-19 virus now accounts for a quarter of all new infections in France, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Thursday. He also said the results of a study of 17,000 positive COVID-19 tests nationwide showed the South African and Brazilian variants now account for 4% to 5% of all new cases. "The spread of these two variants on French territory is not unavoidable," he said at a news conference.

The British variant of the COVID-19 virus now accounts for a quarter of all new infections in France, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Thursday. He also said the results of a study of 17,000 positive COVID-19 tests nationwide showed the South African and Brazilian variants now account for 4% to 5% of all new cases.

"The spread of these two variants on French territory is not unavoidable," he said at a news conference. He also said that in coming weeks the government would see whether it needs to take more restrictive measures to rein in the coronavirus.