France reported an average of 90,000 new coronavirus infections over the past seven days, marking an increase of 36% from a week earlier when most of the COVID-19 health protocol measures were lifted by the government just before the country’s elections.
New covid cases in the last 24 hours published on Sunday stood at 81,283, pushing the 7-day moving average to 89,002 compared to an average of more than 60,000 new cases a week ago. The number of covid instances per 100,000 residents has also reached its highest price level since February 18.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s government, which will stand for re-election less than three weeks after legislative elections later this year, has called for lifting most COVID-19 restrictions on March 14, citing a positive trend.
This means people in France will no longer have to wear COVID face masks indoors, except in public transport, hospitals and other medical facilities. The government also removed its COVID vaccine pass requirement in places like bars and cinemas.
New hospital admissions – seen by French Health Minister Olivier Veran as a leading indicator – decreased week-on-week by just 1.7%, the slowest decline since early February, potentially marking a reversal of previous trends.
The recent increase in new infections was extreme in France’s eastern Alsace region, one of the regions that suffered the most during the start of the pandemic, with authorities reporting more than 1,000 new cases per 100,000 residents.
In France, 53.3 million people have obtained the two doses needed for complete vaccination against the coronavirus as of March 20, 2022. France projected its vaccination campaign against the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) on December 27, 2020.
Since then, the number of people who attained at least one dose of the vaccine stood at about 54.2 million, according to figures from the French National Health Agency. In addition, 39 million people in France received a booster shot (a third vaccine dose).
