France COVID-19 hospital admissions on the rise

France saw the biggest jump in hospital admissions for COVID-19 since mid-November, with the number of people in hospital with the virus up by 493 to 26,393, health ministry data has shown.

The number of people in intensive care with the virus also rose again, by 69 to 2,965, also the highest one-day increase since early November.

France also reported 18,436 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in past 24 hours, down from 23,924 on Saturday but up from 16,642 last Sunday, and the seven-day moving average of new cases was above 20,000 for the second day in a row.

France now has 3.05 million confirmed cases.

The ministry also reported 172 new coronavirus deaths in past 24 hours, from 230 on Saturday, boosting the total to 73,049.