French health authorities reported 7,017 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, sharply up from Tuesday's 4,982 figure, and the third time since the beginning of the outbreak that the daily tally has stood above 7,000. The number of patients hospitalised and rushed to intensive care is also on the rise.
"The virus keeps spreading in the country," French health authorities said in a statement, adding roughly a fifth of France's departments – or administrative districts – were affected by an "active circulation of the disease".
The seven-day moving average of new infections, which smoothes out reporting irregularities, stood at a record of 5,634 and remained above the 5,000 threshold for the fourth day in a row, versus a low of 272 on May 27 – two weeks after authorities lifted a two-month-long lockdown.
The cumulative number of cases now totals 293,024.
The number of people hospitalised for Covid-19, while still well below its April 14 peak of 32,292, has gone up by 28 on Wednesday, totalling 4,632. It has been on the rise for the fifth day in a row, a sequence unseen since April.
Authorities also recorded a rise on the number of patients in intensive care: 22 new patients, reaching a total of 446 people, far below the April 8 record of 7,148 but rising for the sixth consecutive day.
The number of people in France who have died from Covid-19 infections increased by 25 to 30,686.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
