French president Emmanuel Macron will convene a Covid-19 meeting on Monday as France grapples with a record number of new infections of the disease.
The meeting, scheduled at 3pm, will be followed immediately after by a cabinet meeting, the presidential palace said Friday.
France had its worst-ever day in terms of new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, with more than 91,000 cases recorded. The number of deaths also climbed, as the country battles against a fifth wave of the virus.
Meanwhile in England, one in 20 Londoners had Covid-19 last week and that could have risen to one in 10 by the start of this week, according to early modelled estimates that underlined the relentless advance of the Omicron variant.
The UK Office for National Statistics published new estimates on Thursday that showed around one in 20 people in London had Covid-19 on December 16th, compared with one in 30 on December 13th.
Daily modelled estimates for the following days - subject to much greater uncertainty and prone to revision - suggested that may have risen to roughly one in 10 on Sunday.
Impact on industry
The figures came a day after Britain recorded a record number of new coronavirus cases as the Omicron variant swept across the country, with the daily tally reaching 119,789 from 106,122 a day earlier.
The ONS estimates showed around one in 35 people in England - equivalent to 1.54 million people - were infected with Covid-19 during the six days to December 19th.
The early modelling of the subsequent days suggested that could have risen to more than two million people on Sunday, or around one in 25.
Prevalence increased across all parts of the UK the ONS said, with Scotland showing the lowest rate of infections at one in 65 people.
Many industries and transport networks are struggling with staff shortages as sick workers self-isolate, while hospitals in Britain have warned of the risk of an impact on patient safety.
Omicron's rapid advance has driven a surge in cases in Britain over the last seven days, with the total rising by 678,165, government data showed on Thursday.
As the Conservative government of prime minister Boris Johnson struggles to limit the economic impact of the latest Covid-19 outbreak, it said on Wednesday it was reducing the legal self-isolation period in England to seven days from 10.
