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France has suffered an “exponential” increase in Covid-19 cases with 7,379 new infections in 24 hours, according to the country’s public health authority.
The number of new cases has been growing steadily throughout August, but jumped from 6,111 positive tests on Thursday and 5,429 on Wednesday.
Friday’s figure, the latest published by Santé Publique France, is the highest number of new cases in a 24-hour period since March 31 at the height of the epidemic.
Historical data from the government’s Covid-19 website suggests it is the second highest since health authorities began reporting the figures on March 2.
The number of new patients admitted to the hospital, 241 in 24 hours, remains relatively stable as is the number of admissions to intensive care, which increased by 34.
The number of deaths attributed to Covid-19 increased by 20 to a total of 30,596 since the start of the epidemic. There are 320 clusters under investigation, 31 more than the previous day. The percentage of positive tests is 3.9%.
French ministers admitted during a lengthy press conference on Thursday that the sudden spike in Covid-19 infections in August could not be explained solely by an increase in testing, which currently hovers around 840,000 per week. The health authorities aim to reach 1 million tests a week by the end of September.
Santé Publique France reported that “the transmission dynamic is growing strongly and is very worrying.” There has been an increase in the number of infected people showing symptoms of Covid-19, rather than half being asymptomatic, as reported the previous week. While all age groups are reportedly affected, authorities say there is a continued increase in cases among young adults, many of whom show no symptoms.
The increase occurs at the end of the long summer holidays and just before the beginning of the school year, back to work and school in France next week. All students are expected to return to school on Tuesday or Wednesday, wearing masks if they are over 11 years old. All school and university personnel must wear masks.
It is now mandatory to wear masks in outdoor public spaces in Paris and in three suburbs of the city, as well as in Marseille and Strasbourg. Faced with the increase in cases in eastern France, the Bas-Rhin authorities have forced the wearing of masks outdoors in all cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants.
