On the eve of a new tightening of restrictions in France in response to the coronavirus, with a curfew extended from 6 PM for 15 French departments, the French health authorities recorded 19,348 new SARS-CoV-2 infections in 24 hours, still far from the government’s target of 5,000 daily cases. The positivity rate of the tests conducted is currently 3.8%.
Public Health France also reports 133 Covid-19-related deaths that occurred in hospitals in the past 24 hours. This number may be underestimated compared to the actual toll, as on this holiday, not all data is reported as quickly as usual. Since the beginning of the epidemic, the total death toll in France has reached 64,800, a figure that also includes data from nursing homes.
The health agency also reports 24,263 current hospitalizations in the country. Some 677 new patients have been hospitalized since the previous day.
Nearly 2,609 patients suffering from a severe form of the disease were in intensive care this Friday.
