France aiming for ‘brutal brake on infections’ with its second national lockdown to fight Covid-19

French President Emmanuel Macron announced a second national Covid-19 lockdown during a televised address on October 28, 2020. In measures set to take effect on October 30, all non-essential travel will be restricted, and shops and restaurants across France will close. Unlike the nation’s previous lockdown, schools, factories and retirement homes will remain open. Macron hopes the month-long restrictions will help bring down the number of daily cases from around 40,000 currently to about 5,000…