By Reuters Staff

       1 Min Read

       FILE PHOTO: A man walks past closed shops in Nice amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in France, France, April 29, 2021. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

       PARIS (Reuters) - The Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus first found in India - which experts deem more infectious than other variants - currently represents 9-10% of confirmed new COVID cases in France, said government spokesman Gabriel Attal on Wednesday.

       Last week, French health minister Olivier Veran said the Delta variant represented 2-4% of cases in France.

       Attal also told reporters that Russia had been added to the list of countries considered by France as high-risk Covid zones, along with Namibia and Seychelles.

       Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Writing by Matthieu Protard; Editing by Benoit Van Overstaeten

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