France in Talks to Buy Masks From Several Countries, Including China, to Cope With COVID-19 Crisis

At the moment, the number of those infected in France is nearing 11,000, while over 370 people have succumbed to the coronavirus in the country.

Paris is engaged in talks about purchasing more medical masks from various countries, including China, to protect people from the fatal virus, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced on Friday.

He also stated that over 130,000 French nationals were stuck abroad due to the virus restrictions.

"The fundamental principle is that for the 130,000, we want to bring them back to our national territory, but we ask them to be calm and patient", the minister stressed.

According to Le Drain, the world after the coronavirus won't be the same, stressing there is a need for more national and European sovereignty.

A woman wearing a protective face mask reads a newspaper as she walks in a street on the deserted Ile Saint Louis in Paris as lockdown is imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, March 18, 2020.

© REUTERS / CHRISTIAN HARTMANN

At the moment, France has the seventh-highest number of COVID-19 cases after China, Italy, Iran, Spain, Germany, and the United States. The French authorities have already taken some measures to battle the infection, closing schools, cafes, and non-essential businesses, and putting restrictions on train and plane travel.

In total, there are almost 250,000 infected worldwide, and the global death toll has recently surpassed 10,000.