A new record in the daily number of COVID-19 infections

France’s health authorities on Thursday reported 16,096 new coronavirus cases in a 24-hour span, a new daily record of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic. The country’s previous highest daily of new cases was at 13,498 reported on Sept. 19.

Thursday’s figure brought the cumulative total of confirmed coronavirus cases in France to 497,237. The total deaths reached 31,511, up by 52 in the past 24 hours, according to official data.

Earlier in the day, the association of public hospitals in Paris said that non-emergency surgery will be rescheduled starting from this weekend due to the increase of COVID-19 patients. Hospitals in Paris have seen

the number of COVID-19 patients more than doubled, from 150 to 330,

in the last three weeks while those in intensive care went up from 50 to 132, according to data from the association.

These worsening indicators came one day after French Minister of Health Olivier Veran announced a raft of new measures to limit the spread of COVID-19. “The virus spreading accelerates sharply. The situation continues to deteriorate…

If we do not take measures quickly, we risk reaching critical thresholds in some regions,”

said Veran at a press conference following a cabinet meeting.

Currently, France and other countries across the globe — including China, Russia, Britain, and the U.S. — are racing to find a coronavirus vaccine. According to the website of the World Health Organization (WHO), as of Sept. 17, there were 182 COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed worldwide, and 36 of them were in clinical trials.

Source: Xinhua