France Reports More than Two Lakh Cases in Last 24 hour, Highest in a Single-Day
New Delhi: The situation in the European country Frace is now looking not in control as the nations have reported more than two lakh cases of Covid-19 in a single day. The Health Minister of France Olivier Veran on Wednesday said that “France has recorded more than 208,000 cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours – which is a new daily record.” The Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in the nation.
France on Tuesday reported 179,807 cases and 208,000 cases on Wednesday.
“I wouldn’t call Omicron a wave anymore. I would call it a groundswell. Given the numbers we have been seeing these past few days, we are talking about a landslide.” Veran said.
Some 10 percent of the French population had been in contact with somebody who is infected with the virus, Veran said, and even vaccinations were unlikely to offer enough protection.
The Minister on Monday had warned that France could reach more than 250,000 daily Covid cases by the beginning of January. The virus circulation is too intense.
According to a media report, 70 percent of people hospitalized in ICU (Intensive Care Units) in Paris Public Hospitals are not vaccinated.
France has vaccinated 77 percent of its population and is rushing out booster shots, again to combat omicron. But more than 4 million adults remain unvaccinated, including more than 1 million people over age 65.
More than 3,400 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in intensive care units on Wednesday, an increase of 10 percent over the past week. The figure represents two-thirds of ICU beds occupied by people infected with the virus. But the number is lower than during the previous peak in the spring when about 6,000 COVID-19 patients needed intensive care.
(Vinayak Barot)
