PARIS (Reuters) - Professor Philippe Juvin, a leading member of Paris’ Georges-Pompidou hospital, told RTL radio on Wednesday that France had to accept a new, national lockdown to tackle a resurgence of the COVID-19 virus. “We must take it up,” said Juvin. French President Emmanuel Macron will give a televised address on Wednesday evening. His government has been exploring a new, national lockdown from midnight on Thursday, BFM TV reported, albeit a slightly more flexible one than the two-month shutdown that began in mid-March. Schools could remain open even as restrictions on people’s movements become more severe, BFM TV added. France imposed a night-time curfew on major cities, including Paris, two weeks ago running from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., but the COVID-19 figures have continued to worsen. Official data on Tuesday showed that France had reported 523 new deaths from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, and 33,417 new confirmed COVID cases.