Covid-19: 20,000 new contaminations in 24 hours

More than 20,000 new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the past 24 hours, according to data released on Saturday by Public Health France, while fear of a new rebound in the epidemic has led to the strengthening of the curfew Across the country.

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The number of confirmed cases was 20,177 on Saturday, up from 19,814 on Friday.

Since Tuesday, the daily number of coronavirus infections has hovered around 20,000.

This figure has varied a lot since mid-December, fluctuating between 3,000 and more than 25,000, but still on average far from the government's target of falling to 5,000 cases per day.

The test positivity rate continues to rise

The positivity rate, which measures the percentage of people positive for Covid-19, continues to increase, to 6.3% (compared to 6% on Friday, 4.6% a week ago).

The number of hospitalized Covid patients stands at 24,240 (down 137 compared to Friday), with 944 new hospitalizations in one day.

In intensive care, the number of patients is 2,600 (6 less than the day before), with 245 new admissions in 24 hours.

According to the Prime Minister, one in two beds is currently occupied by a Covid patient in the intensive care units.

Hospitals recorded 171 new deaths in 24 hours, bringing the total disease toll to 67,599 since the start of the epidemic.

The next two weeks will be crucial for these indicators, according to experts, who fear probable fallout from the holiday season.

On the vaccine front, Health Minister Olivier Véran said on Saturday that the country would "probably pass the symbolic milestone of 100,000 French people vaccinated in the weekend", and assured that "next week, the pace will increase further" .

The vaccination campaign in France has been strongly criticized for its slow start.