France Reports Over 4,000 Virus Cases in 24 Hours, Number of Patients on Ventilator on the Rise

Schoolchildren, wearing protective face masks, line up as they enter the primary school Simone Veil during its reopening in Nice as a small part of French children head back to their schools with new rules and social distancing during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France. (Image: Reuters)

The spike in new cases marked the first jump of more than 4,000 in a day since May, although the number of new patients hospitalised at 149 was down on 162 for Wednesday, the DGS public health directorate said.

AFP
Last Updated: August 21, 2020, 8:42 AM IST

France reported 4,771 new coronavirus cases over 24 hours on Thursday, 1,000 more than Wednesday, health authorities said.

The spike in new cases marked the first jump of more than 4,000 in a day since May, although the number of new patients hospitalised at 149 was down on 162 for Wednesday, the DGS public health directorate said.

Currently, 4,748 people are hospitalised with the virus across the country, which is down on Wednesday (4,806) and Tuesday (4,823).

France has logged 18,638 positive virus cases over the past week while the percentage of positive tests has been rising, to 3.3 percent Thursday from 3.1 on Wednesday with the DSG revealing 33 new clusters.

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The country has logged 30,480 deaths during the pandemic to date -- 12 since Tuesday and metropolitan France continues to see a "worrying" upward transmission trend, the DGS said with new confirmed cases up 43 percent in a week on last week while the number of hospitalised patients on a ventilator is also on the rise.

Six departments, led by Paris, show more than 50 cases per 100,000 residents, above the alert level with another 24 just below.