PARIS: More people in France should work from home to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the government said on Wednesday, adding authorities would step up checks and sanctions on companies not doing enough in this area.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, government spokesman Gabriel Attal told reporters that the COVID-19 situation was worsening everywhere in the country.

He also said that the government may add three more regions to its list of COVID-19 high-risk zones which need careful monitoring and may need restrictive measures.

"The epidemic situation is bad," Attal said.

Last week, France imposed a month-long lockdown on Paris and parts of the north after a faltering vaccine rollout and spread of highly contagious coronavirus variants forced President Emmanuel Macron to shift course.