Paris (AFP)
The number of infections with the new coronavirus reached a new record on Saturday, with more than 32,000 contaminations in 24 hours, while the number of patients in intensive care continued to increase, according to official figures.
32,427 positive screening tests have been recorded in the past 24 hours, according to the daily report from the French public health agency.
A level never reached since the launch of large-scale tests.
A record of 30,621 cases was set Thursday, and the milestone of 20,000 cases was crossed on October 9 alone.
The positivity rate (proportion of positive tests in relation to the total tests carried out) continues to increase rapidly, at 13.1%, against 9% only ten days ago and around 4.5% at the beginning of September.
1,868 patients with the most severe form of the disease are currently hospitalized in an intensive care unit, 77 more than the day before.
Over the past 24 hours, 175 new patients have been admitted to these services, and over the past seven days, 1,204 patients have entered.
Health Minister Olivier Véran said Thursday that France had a total of 5,800 intensive care beds.
At the peak of the epidemic caused by the new coronavirus, in April, more than 7,000 patients were hospitalized in intensive care.
The number fell sharply until the end of July, before rising steadily.
In total, 10,399 people with Covid-19 are hospitalized today, or 378 more than on Friday.
The number of deaths attributable to the disease stands at 90 for the day of Saturday (against 122 the day before), bringing the total death toll since the start of the epidemic to 33,392.
© 2020 AFP