Paris, Jan. 2 (BNA): France has become the sixth country in the world to record more than 10 million cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak of the epidemic, according to official data published on Saturday.
French health authorities reported 2,19,126 new confirmed cases within 24 hours, the fourth consecutive day in which the country recorded more than 200,000 cases, Reuters reported.
France joins the United States, India, Brazil, Britain and Russia in having more than 10 million cases.
Saturday’s figure was the second-highest after the record of 232,200 on Friday when French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the next few weeks would be difficult.
In his New Year’s Eve address, Macron did not mention the need for more restrictive health measures than those already announced, adding that the government should refrain from further restricting individual liberties.
But the government said earlier on Saturday that the wearing of masks in public from Monday will be mandatory for children under six, compared to 11 before.
And some major cities, including Paris and Lyon, have reinstated the requirement to wear masks on the streets.
France’s seven-day moving average, which facilitates reporting of daily wrongdoing, rose to an all-time high of 157,651 – jumping nearly fivefold in one month.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 rose by 96 over 24 hours, peaking in more than seven months at 18,811. But that number is still nearly half the record reached in November 2020 of 33497.
The COVID-19 death toll rose by 110 in 24 hours to 123,851, the 12th globally. The seven-day moving average of new daily deaths was 186, the highest since May 14.