Comments by Professor Jean-François Delfraissy, who leads the scientific council that advises the government on the virus pandemic

The virus situation in France has gotten out of control, with 52,010 new cases (officially) being reported yesterday - a record number of infections in the country - after having seen 45,422 cases on Saturday before that.

The positivity rate has also increased significantly to 17% and odds are, these 50,000+ that are being detected are only because there is a limit to testing capacity.

The underlying spread of the virus is likely higher and if it is what Delfraissy suggests i.e. almost double what is being reported, then we could possibly see medical facilities pushed to the brink at a much quicker pace.

In the bigger picture, if more people come down with the virus, it also impacts daily consumption and business activity as these people would be unable to go about their day-to-day life as they would otherwise.