On the eve of a high-risk New Year's Eve, French health authorities have identified 26,457 new SARS-CoV-2 contaminations in 24 hours, still a long way from the government target of going down to 5,000.
Please note, this figure should be taken with a grain of salt: "following an incident", test results "could not be integrated and taken into account in the results" of Tuesday, had warned Public Health France on December 29, suggesting a catch-up in the coming days.
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Moreover, this daily figure has varied enormously since mid-December, fluctuating between some 3,000 and more than 21,000, in particular because of public holidays and vacations.
24,560 hospitalizations in progress
Public Health France also reports 304 deaths linked to Covid-19, which occurred in the hospital in the last 24 hours.
Since the start of the epidemic, the total number of deaths in France has reached 64,382, a figure which takes into account data in nursing homes.
The health agency also reports 24,560 hospitalizations in progress in the country.
Some 1,404 new patients have been hospitalized since the day before.
Among the people treated in hospitals, 2,652 patients suffering from severe forms of Covid-19 require support within the intensive care unit.
A figure down slightly since the start of the week: these patients were 2,666 Tuesday and 2,694 Monday.
Over the past 24 hours, these specialized services have welcomed 209 new patients.