France warned lockdown ease will ‘spark second wave of cases’

President Emmanuel Macron has been warned France faces an “inevitable” second coronavirus wave as the country is set to ease the lockdown.

The French President has said schools and nurseries are to reopen from Monday, to phase country out of lockdown.

Olivier Schwartz, head of the virus department at France’s Pasteur Institute warned, “There will be a second wave, but the problem is to which extent.

“Is it a small wave or a big wave? It’s too early to say.”

Helge Braun who is the German Chancellor’s, Angela Merkel’s chief of staff warned on Thursday the pandemic will continue to rip through the country for months to come.

Braun said, “We are not living after the pandemic now, rather we are living in the middle of a pandemic, one that will be with us for a while, at least for this year and that’s being very optimistic.”

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Thursday that the lockdown “must be extended,” as easing lockdown restrictions will be “very, very risky.”

Speaking to Sky News she said, “The only thing that matters to me is that we take the decisions that are best going to suppress and tackle this virus,” she said.

“I think that’s what all of us in leadership positions across the UK are doing.”

On Wednesday, Johnson confirmed to the Commons that he will be setting out plans to lift the lockdown on Sunday, and he hopes to “get going on some of these measures on Monday.”