The French health ministry reported 19,753 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Tuesday, up from Monday's 3,582, while the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units continued to rise.
These latest figures will be discussed at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday by the government which is pondering whether to impose a third national lockdown or extend a 6 p.m. curfew, now enforced in some areas, to all of France.
Jean-François Defraissy, head of the scientific council advising the government on the epidemic, told TF1 Television that France will likely have to consider more restrictions on people's movements soon to limit the spread of the UK and South African variants of the coronavirus.
The number of people treated in intensive care units (ICUs) for the disease was up by 12 over 24 hours at 2,688. The total number of people treated for the disease in hospitals stood at 24,737.
France's cumulative total of cases stands at 2,806,590, the sixth-highest in the world. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)
The COVID-19 death toll was up by 362 in hospitals over 24 hours at 68,802, the seventh-highest in the world.
A list published on Tuesday evening showed that nearly 190,000 people have been vaccinated, including more than 40,000 in the Paris region.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
