France set a new daily coronavirus infections record on Friday, registering 94,124 cases over 24 hours, the highest figure since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
It marked the second day in a row that infections climbed to record highs: on 23 December 91,600 cases were registered, breaking the previous record of 83,324 daily cases set on 7 November 2020.
The numbers are likely to climb further, fuelled by the super-contagious Omicron variant and the Christmas holiday season, when schools are closed and families gather.
According to figures of France's health authorities, some 16,173 people are currently hospitalised for Covid-19 in the country, with 3,254 of them in emergency care.
Some 122,462 people have died of Covid-19 in France since the start of the pandemic.
Some 76.5 percent of the population have received two vaccine doses, and nearly 21 million people in a country of 67.4 million residents have received a booster shot.
On Friday, health authority recommended that adults receive a booster jab three months after their initial vaccination.
Flights cancelled
As Omicron numbers are exploding globally, over 4,500 flights were cancelled around the world by Saturday and thousands more were delayed, according to tracking website Flightaware,com.
According to Flightaware, at least 2,000 flights were cancelled worldwide on Christmas Day, including roughly 700 originating from or headed to US airports, with more than 1,500 delays as of 0720 GMT.
On Friday, there were around 2,400 cancellations and almost 11,000 delays. The site also reported over 600 cancellations for Sunday.
Pilots, flight attendants and other staff have been calling in sick or having to quarantine after exposure to Covid, forcing Air France, Lufthansa, Delta, United Airlines and many other carriers to cancel flights during one of the year's peak travel periods.
(With AFP)
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