France recorded almost 10,000 new COVID-19 infections today, on Thursday, its highest ever single-day total, a day before a cabinet meeting that might consider imposing fresh, local lockdowns to curb the spread of the disease, Reuters reported. Health authorities reported 9,843 new confirmed coronavirus cases, beating by almost 900 the previous record of 8,975, set six days earlier. Since the beginning of the month, new cases have gone up by 7,292 each day on average, a figure that blows away the previous record daily average of 3,003 seen in August. After reaching a low of 4,530 on Aug. 28, the number of people hospitalised with COVID-19 is again trending upward, with an increase of 93 over the last 24 hours to 5,096, the highest total in more than a month. That figure has now shot up for 12 days in a row. The number of patients in intensive care units stands at 615, a level unseen since the end of June. Hospital figures are still very far from peaks reached in April but create renewed strain on the hospital system that might lead authorities to take action. France's decision to put the country under one of Europe's strictest lockdowns between March 17 and May 11 was dictated by the need to keep the hospital system from being overwhelmed.
