FILE PHOTO: Nurses work in the intensive care unit as they look after patients of the novel coronavirus at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) of Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe on the French Caribbean archipelago of Guadeloupe. /VCG Image
The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in France may be worse than the first one, a hospital official warned.
Martin Hirsch, the head of Paris public hospital group AP-HP, said France faced a "daunting" challenge ahead even as authorities reported a record number of daily infections of 41,622 new cases on Thursday. Meanwhile, the number of patients in intensive care is also at its highest level in about five months.
"There has been a perception in recent months that a second wave does not exist, or that it is a small wave. The situation is the opposite," Hirsch told the RTL broadcaster.
"It is possible that the second wave will be worse than the first," he added.
On Thursday, prime Minister Jean Castex announced that the curfew will be extended to an additional 38 departments for six weeks due to the rapid spread of the virus.
The new order, which will affect an estimated 46 million people, took effect from midnight on Friday and persons in the affected areas will have to stay at home between 9pm and 6am.
France has reported nearly one million confirmed cases and more than 34,000 deaths.
France and a host of other European countries are experiencing a second wave of coronavirus infections. It is one of four countries which have been identified as current coronavirus hot spots on the continent. The others are the UK, Russia and Spain.
(With input from agencies)