PARIS (Reuters) – France saw the number of people in intensive care units with COVID-19 rise by 36 to a new 2021 high of 5,952, reflecting increased pressure on hospitals, health ministry data showed on Tuesday.
France also reported 324 new coronavirus deaths in hospitals, compared to 385 on Monday, taking the cumulative toll since the start of the epidemic close to the 100,000 mark.
France is hoping that a ramp-up of its vaccination campaign, combined with the one-month lockdown in place since end March, will help it regain control over the latest outbreak, fueled by variants of the novel coronavirus.
France will notably suspend all flights to and from Brazil in a bid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus variant first detected there, Prime Minister Jean Castex said in parliament.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by GV De Clercq)
