Sharjah 24 – KUNA: French Prime Minister Jean Castex affirmed on Wednesday that the new COVID-19 Delta variant has officially led to France experiencing its fourth wave of the pandemic.

The 18,181 new cases, recorded on Tuesday, represent a 140 percent jump on the previous week, said the prime minister, some 96 percent of whom were unvaccinated people," Castex told TF1 news.

"We are in the fourth wave, the infamous Delta variant is here, it is here, it is the majority of cases and what characterizes it from those that preceded it is that it is much more contagious," he said.

"Although additional measures at the national level have not been decided to tackle the recent surge in infections, restrictions at the local level may be imposed," he added.