French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Friday his government was not planning a new, nationwide lockdown to contain a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, but would instead implement a raft of less radical measures. He said these would include fast-tracked testing for priority cases to reduce the time spent waiting for results, and targeted restrictions in areas of the country hit especially hard by the pandemic. “The virus is with us for several more months and we must manage to live with it without letting ourselves get drawn once again into a narrative of nationwide lockdown,” Castex said in a televised address. French health authorities reported 9,843 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Thursday, beating the record for the number of new cases in a 24-hour period. France imposed a strict lockdown in March, at the height of the epidemic’s first wave. That succeeded in preventing the hospital system from being overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases, but also dealt a severe blow to the economy. That lockdown was relaxed towards the start of May. Since then, the number of cases has gradually risen and the number of people sick enough with the virus to need hospital treatment has increased.