Marseille's Covid hospital beds 'near saturation'
The usage of hospital beds by Covid-19 patients in the French city of Marseille is "near saturation" amid a sharp spike in infections.
Surgeries are being reduced to handle an incidence rate which has risen to 312 per 100,000 since September.
New limits on gatherings are being introduced around Marseille and in the south-western city of Bordeaux.
Both cities are the primary new hotspots in a country that on Saturday recorded a large surge in cases.
The 10,561 new infections over a day represented the largest rise since large-scale testing began.
The figures for Sunday and Monday were lower - as is commonly the case for weekend reporting - but the seven-day rolling average, which smoothes out these irregularities, recorded a rise in infections for the 28th day in a row.
France has recorded a lot more than 425,000 infections, and almost 31,000 deaths, in the coronavirus epidemic, Johns Hopkins University research shows.
Why the new measures?
On Friday, Prime Minister Jean Castex warned of "worrying developments" in Marseille and its department of Bouches-du-Rhône, and in Bordeaux. He needed new measures to be organized by Monday.
At a briefing on Monday, Philippe de Mester, director general of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur health agency, said the rate of positive tests had reached 10.6% in Marseille and 8.5% in the Bouches-du-Rhône overall.
Intensive care capacity was close to overload. Marseille hospitals director Jean-Olivier Arnaud said 31 of 35 resuscitation beds and 129 of 155 dedicated Covid patient beds were in use, adding: "We aren't definately not saturation."
"We are at the top of the national ranking of departments whose situation is developing the most unfavourably," Mr de Mester said.
Yann Bubien, a Bordeaux hospital director and an associate of the government's Covid scientific advisory council, said there have been "a very rapid increase in the last 10 days" in the town.
"All the warning signals are flashing red," he said.
What are the measures?
- In Marseille and the Bouches-du-Rhône until 1 October:
- Large-scale gatherings for the general public limited to 1,000 seated people, with minimum one-metre (3ft) distance
- Student parties banned and school outings suspended
- No private meetings greater than 10 people, including on beaches and in parks, in high-risk areas
- Masks compulsory in 27 high-risk areas in the department from 06:00 (04:00 GMT) to 02:00 (00:00 GMT), except in large outdoor areas
Virtually identical measures were introduced for Bordeaux, like the 1,000 limit on large-scale gatherings and 10-person limit on private meetings.
Additional police will be deployed to enforce the measures in Bordeaux, with the problem to be reviewed in "several weeks".
Furthermore, the Monte-Carlo International Festival, the largest circus event on the globe, scheduled for January, has been cancelled.
