French Prime Minister Jean Castex warned of the possibility of France shutting down for a second time to fight the invisible killer disease. He said a lockdown could not be ruled out as a “prevention”.

Mr Castex said: “What we must avoid above all is a general lockdown.

“Such a measure breaks the spread of the epidemic, certainly, but it is catastrophic on an economic and social level, including for the psychological health of some of our fellow citizens.”

He said local lockdowns could be enforced as a way to avoid a whole nationwide lockdown, adding: “There are simple things to do and not to do, which are called barrier gestures, until the day when a vaccine is discovered”.

Health Minister Olivier Véran said the nation hadn’t “won the war yet”.

He added: “Vulnerable and elderly people are still very prudent but young people are paying less attention.

“This is what we’re observing at celebrations and family gatherings where clusters originate.

READ MORE: Macron coronavirus crisis: Infections on rise in France

Meanwhile, in Spain fears of a second lockdown are growing after a significant rise in coronavirus cases.

Several European countries are taking steps to stop their citizens bringing the illness home, including Britain, which imposed a 14-day quarantine on travellers from the holiday hotspot this weekend.

The decision was taken to suspend the so-called travel corridor with the UK’s most popular holiday destination after Spain recorded more than 900 fresh daily Covid-19 cases for two days running.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the Government will not apologise for reimposing strict quarantine rules at short notice on travellers returning from Spain.

Mr Raab told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: “The data we got was on the Friday, it showed a big jump right across mainland Spain.

“That was then assessed yesterday afternoon and we took the decision as swiftly as we could.

“And we can’t make apologies for doing so.

“We must be able to take swift, decisive action, particularly in relation to localised, or internationally in relation to Spain or a particular country, where we see we must take action.

“Otherwise, we risk reinfection into the UK, potentially a second wave here and then another lockdown.

“So, yes, I understand it is disruptive for those going through this who are in Spain or have been considering going but we must though be able to take swift, decisive action to protect the UK, because we’ve made such progress in getting the virus down, and prevent the virus retaking hold in the UK.”