Second COVID Wave ‘Highly Likely’ to Hit France This Year, Scientists Say

Second COVID Wave ‘Highly Likely’ to Hit France This Year, Scientists Say
Healthcare workers collect samples in a walk-through test site to detect possible coronavirus infections after the emergence of a cluster of cases due to the illegal opening of the Hacienda Cafe nightclub in Quiberon, France, on July 29, 2020. Caroline Paillez/Reuters
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PARIS—A second wave of the coronavirus epidemic is “highly likely” to hit France in the autumn or winter, the government’s top scientific body warned on Tuesday, as authorities seek to contain an increase in new cases over the past two weeks.

After strict lockdown measures pushed down infection rates, many European countries are now watching numbers creep back up, a consequence of easing curbs to try to limit economic damage and greater social mixing in the holiday season.