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Number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care in France at highest level this year

COVID-19 care unit at the Polyclinique Saint Jean in Cagnes-Sur-Mer
Medical staff members work in the COVID Care Unit where patients suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are treated at the private Polyclinique Saint Jean in Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France, on Mar 23, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Eric Gaillard)

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PARIS: The number of people with COVID-19 in French intensive care units rose by 84 on Tuesday (Mar 23) to a new 2021 high of 4,634, health ministry data showed.

But the number of new infections, at 14,678, was the lowest since Jan 3, excluding Mondays, when case numbers dip because fewer tests are done over the weekend.

A third of France's population, including the Paris region, has since Friday been under a lockdown that is due to last four weeks. Experts generally say it takes two weeks for restrictive measures to take effect.

The total number of people in hospital for COVID-19 rose by 268 to at 26,756, the highest since Feb 11.

The COVID-19 death toll rose by 287 to 92,908, the seventh-highest in the world.

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Source: Reuters