Toughest weeks lie ahead in coronavirus fight, warns French PM

The next two weeks will be the toughest yet in the fight against coronavirus in France, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe warned on Saturday as his government raced to add intensive care beds and source protective gear.

As the number of coronavirus-related deaths spirals higher across the country, Philippe's health minister said the government had ordered more than 1 billion face masks, the vast majority from China, to build up its supplies. "We are fighting a battle that will take time," Philippe said in a televised address. "The first two weeks of April will be harder than the two we have just lived through."

The outbreak initially took hold in eastern France, where hospitals have become overwhelmed, and has been spreading west. Doctors in the Greater Paris region have warned their intensive care units will be full by the end of the weekend. The number of intensive care beds available nationwide has already doubled to 10,000, Health Minister Olivier Veran said, standing beside the prime minister, with a target of 15,000 sets.

"The challenge is both material and human," Veran added. Coronavirus is known to have claimed 2,314 lives in France which has 37,575 confirmed cases of infection, according to official figures.