PARIS, Mar 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) – France registered 19,952 new cases and 122 related deaths in the past 24 hours, according to figures released by the Public Health Agency yesterday.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases stands at 3,755,968, and the total number of fatalities at 86,454, since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Over the past seven days, 9,613 COVID-19 patients were in hospital, of whom, 1,871 were put on ventilators, the agency added.
In an interview with Le Journal de Dimanche (JDD), Jerome Salomon, director-general of public health, said, the virus variant, first detected in Britain, now became dominant in France, with 53 percent of positive cases attributable to this more infectious strain.
The first case of this virus in France was spotted on Dec 26, 2020, prompting the country to impose travel restrictions.
“The situation is obviously very tense but the government took strong braking measures, notably the curfew, which is working very well,” Salomon said. “We can still avoid confinement, if everyone is mobilised.”
As of Feb 27, 2,967,937 people in France received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. France aims to inoculate all citizens aged over 65 by the end of May, and all adults before Sept.
Meanwhile, 255 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide — 73 of them in clinical trials — in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organisation on Feb 23.– NNN-AGENCIES
