REUTERS: The number of individuals hospitalized in France for COVID-19 rose by more than 1,000 over the last two days, a trend unseen since Nov. 16, and the number of patients in intensive care units for the disease exceeded 3,000 for the first time since Dec. 9.
A growing number of medical experts have called for a 3rd lockdown in France whereas the government rolls out the vaccine, but French media reported that President Emmanuel Macron was trying to avoid such a measure.
As of Monday, France had vaccinated 1,092,958 individuals.
Macron hopes a 6 p.m. curfew put in place 10 days in the past can be sufficient to rein within the surge in new infections prompted by the emergence of more contagious variants of the virus.
Getting the number of patients handled in ICUs for COVID-19 under the 3,000 limit was the main justification for replacing the second lockdown with the national curfew on Dec. 15.
At 3,041, the ICU total is less than half its all-time high of 7,148 on April 4, however has grown virtually every day since Jan 7.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stated on Bloomberg Tv that a new lockdown would make it very tough for the nation to reach its 2021 target of 6% economic growth.
The government had also aimed to bring the average new daily cases below 5,000 earlier than lifting the second lockdown. After a 54,440 high on Nov. 7, the seven-day shifting average of everyday new infections, which averages out reporting irregularities, fell to 10,348 on Dec. 4 however is now at a two-month high of 20,447.
The every day tally of recent COVID infections was 4,240 on Monday, higher than last Monday’s 3,736. France’s cumulative total of cases now stands at 3,057,857, the sixth-highest in the world.
The nation’s COVID-19 dying toll was up by 445, at 73,494, the world’s seventh-highest, versus a rise of 172 on Sunday. The seven-day moving average of new fatalities increased to 401, the highest since Dec. 9.
