France's Health Minister on Wednesday said that the country is not in the throes of a second wave of coronavirus infection despite a recent rise in cases, but he urged the public to behave responsibly to prevent a new surge, according to AFP.

Olivier Veran acknowledged the "warning signs", but added that these were partly due to ramped-up testing.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had warned on Tuesday of a "second wave" in Europe after a controversial decision to quarantine all travellers arriving from Spain, a move that London has not ruled out applying to other countries.

"We are not in a second wave of the coronavirus, we are in the wake of an epidemic — more or less at a lower level — depending on the regions and cities concerned," Mr Veran told LCI television.

"Clusters are emerging. We have warning signs from certain hospitals that have seen a trend of increasing admission. We are testing a lot more," he said.