France reported 16,096 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, the highest single-day spike since the start of the pandemic, taking the total tally to 497,237, official data revealed.
Paris:
The country's previous highest single-day case record was reported on September 19 with 13,498 infections, Xinhua news agency reported.
Meanwhile, the overall death toll reached 31,511 on Thursday, up by 52 in the past 24 hours, according to official data.
Earlier in the day, the association of public hospitals in Paris said that non-emergency surgery will be rescheduled starting from this weekend due to the increase of Covid-19 patients.
Hospitals in Paris have seen the number of infected patients more than doubled, from 150 to 330, in the last three weeks, while those in intensive care went up from 50 to 132, according to data from the association.
These worsening indicators came one day after Health Minister Olivier Veran announced a series of new measures to limit the spread of Covid-19.
"The virus spreading accelerates sharply. The situation continues to deteriorate... If we do not take measures quickly, we risk reaching critical thresholds in some regions," said Veran at a press conference following a cabinet meeting.
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