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According to official data released on Saturday, France became the sixth country in the world to report more than 10 million COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.
In a 24-hour period, French health officials reported 219,126 new confirmed cases, the fourth day in a row that the country has registered more than 200,000 cases.
France, along with the United States, India, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Russia, had more than 10 million cases.
The total on Saturday was the second highest, following the 232,200 set on Friday, when French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the next weeks would be challenging.
Macron did not emphasise the necessity for more rigorous health measures than those already outlined in his New Year’s Eve address, but he did say that the government should resist from restricting individual liberties more.
However, the government said earlier on Saturday that from Monday, children as young as six will be required to wear masks in public settings, rather than the previous age limit of 11.
And other major towns, such as Paris and Lyon, have reinstated the requirement that everyone wear a mask on the street.
In less than a month, the seven-day moving average of new cases in France reached an all-time high of 157,651, virtually tripling.
In the previous 24 hours, the number of people hospitalised for COVID-19 has grown by 96, to 18,811, a seven-month high. That amount, however, is still less than half of the previous high of 33,497 achieved in November 2020.
Over the course of 24 hours, the COVID-19 death toll grew by 110, bringing it to 123,851, the 12th highest worldwide. The seven-day moving average of new daily deaths has risen to 186, the highest level since May 14th.
