A nasopharyngeal RT-PCR test performed in Bordeaux.

(illustration) -

UGO AMEZ / SIPA

France has recorded nearly 15,000 new cases of Covid-19 contamination in the past 24 hours, according to figures from health authorities released Wednesday evening.

The number of new daily cases hovered between 12,000 and 18,000 last week.

It rose to 14,929 on Wednesday, down from 11,795 on Tuesday.

A declining positivity rate

The positivity rate, which measures the percentage of people positive for the coronavirus out of all those tested, was 4.3% on Wednesday against 4.4% the day before, specifies Public Health France (SpF).

This key indicator stood at 6.4% on December 8, when a new accounting method was introduced.

The number of Covid-19 patients currently treated in intensive care continues to decline very slowly, with 2,701 patients (including 200 admitted in the last 24 hours) against 2,719 on Tuesday, the health agency's database said.

At the peak of the second wave on November 16, more than 4,900 patients had been identified in intensive care.

Nearly 25,000 people hospitalized

A total of 24,852 people with the disease are currently hospitalized, with 1,426 new admissions in 24 hours.

The Covid-19 has killed 278 people in hospitals in the last 24 hours, up from 386 on Tuesday, bringing the total death toll to 61,978 (including 42,783 in hospital) since the start of the pandemic, according to SpF.

The health authorities fear that the end of the year celebrations will lead to a rebound in the epidemic, by promoting social promiscuity.

In France, the first vaccines against Covid-19 will be administered on Sunday.

The French strategy plans to vaccinate as a priority the elderly in nursing homes and the workers of these residences presenting risk factors, that is to say approximately 1 million people.

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