France reports 5,952 people in intensive care units for Covid-19

The cumulative death toll since the start of the epidemic is now very close to the 100,000 mark at 99,480. France is hoping that a ramp-up of its vaccination campaign, combined with the one-month lockdown in place since the end of March, will help it regain control over the latest outbreak, fuelled by variants of the novel coronavirus.

The number of people in France's intensive care units with COVID-19 rose 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 with 385 on Monday, along with 39,113 new cases, taking the total to 5.1 million. The cumulative death toll since the start of the epidemic is now very close to the 100,000 mark at 99,480.

France is hoping that a ramp-up of its vaccination campaign, combined with the one-month lockdown in place since the end of March, will help it regain control over the latest outbreak, fuelled by variants of the novel coronavirus. France will 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 told parliament.