PARIS (Reuters) – French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday the government must move fast to head off a deadly new COVID-19 wave as the virus’s reproduction level has jumped, with infections surging in the Paris region and among young people. France’s COVID-19 reproduction “R” number is now 1.4, Castex told a news briefing, indicating that the overall epidemic is growing. “The virus is spreading all over the country,” he said. “The spread of the epidemic can be exponential if we do not react quickly,” Castex told reporters. Grandparents are being told not to pick up their grandchildren from school as the government is worried about hospitals being overwhelmed. The government is hoping to avoid a new nationwide lockdown, but the country has been facing a resurgence of new COVID-19 infections since July, with an acceleration from mid-August. The health ministry on Wednesday reported 5,429 new daily infections, […]