The next two weeks will be the toughest yet in the fight against coronavirus in France, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has warned as his government races to add intensive care beds and source protective gear.

“We are fighting a battle that will take time,” Philippe said at a news conference. “The first two weeks of April will be harder than the two we have just lived through.”

A decision will be taken in a week on a further extension of an unprecedented lockdown beyond April 15, the prime minister said.

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