France reports more than 10,000 new cases of coronavirus for day three

PARIS, July 18 (Reuters) – France reported more than 12,500 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, the third day the tally topped 10,000, as the rapid spread of the more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 resulted in a surge in new infections.

The health ministry said, however, that the 12,532 new cases reported on Sunday, which brought the total to 5.87 million, included data not released the day before.

“The daily figure published today (+12,532) should therefore not be interpreted as an exceptional increase in the number of daily cases, in a context nonetheless of strong dynamics in the evolution of the number of cases”, specifies- it in a note posted on its website.

The ministry had reported 10,949 cases on Saturday and 10,908 cases on Friday.

France also reported 891 people in intensive care units with the new coronavirus on Sunday, an increase from the previous day, while the total number of deaths in hospitals rose by five to 111,472.

Report by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Hugh Lawson

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