French health minister warns of fourth COVID wave

FILE PHOTO: People wearing protective face masks walk on the Champs Elysees Avenue, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in France, May 27, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

PARIS (Reuters) - Health Minister Olivier Veran on Sunday urged as many French people as possible to get a COVID-19 vaccine, warning that France could be heading for a fourth wave of the epidemic by the end of the month due to the highly transmissible Delta variant.

"For five days, (the infection rate) hasn't come down - it's rising again. Because of the Delta variant, which is very contagious. The British example shows that a fourth wave is possible from the end of July," Veran said on Twitter.