Covid numbers on the rise in France, weeks after restrictions lifted

Tourists with no face masks near the Louvre Museum, in Paris, on 14 March when France lifted the last of its Covid-19 restrictions. © Francois Mori/AP

The number of patients hospitalized for Covid-19 in France is on the rise, as are the number of infections – raising concerns of a new wave of the virus that appeared to be on the decline in early February.

Health authorities on Monday said the number of patients hospitalized for Covid-19 jumped by 467 in 24 hours to 21,073 – the highest daily increase since 1 February.

Comparing weekly figures, hospitalizations are up 1.8 percent, and the numbers have been increasing every day for the past five days.

Infections have been on the rise, with the seven day moving average of new cases at 128,241 – a six-week high.

🔴 103 départements (métropole + DOM-TOM) devraient être classés rouge, car ils dépassent le niveau d'alerte de 50 cas pour 100 000 habitants en 7 jours (données du 25/03)
➡️ Plus d'infos : https://t.co/h3BcdLbcND pic.twitter.com/VPEjUHVppg

— 🤖 CovidTracker Bot (@CovidTracker_fr) March 28, 2022

Most of France’s remaining Covid restrictions were lifted three weeks ago, and the requirement to wear masks indoors was lifted on 14 March.

Meanwhile, the country’s vaccination drive has slowed to a crawl. About 80.5 percent of the total population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Read more:

• Omicron ‘stealth’ variant and fewer restrictions driving resurgence of Covid in France and Europe

(with wires)