People wearing face masks walk on the Trocadero Place near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, Sept. 3, 2020. France has confirmed 7,157 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, a figure comparable to the level of the day before (7,017), the country's public health agency announced on Thursday. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)
PARIS, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- France has confirmed 7,157 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, a figure comparable to the level of the day before (7,017), the country's public health agency announced on Thursday.
It is the fourth time that France recorded a daily tally of above 7,000 since the beginning of the epidemic. Last Friday, 7,319 new cases were confirmed and the peak (7,578) was recorded on March 31.
The number of patients in intensive care increased for a third consecutive day by 18, bringing the total to 464. The figure had increased by 15 on Tuesday and 22 on Wednesday. According to the French Health Ministry, the death toll since the start of the epidemic increased by 21 to 30,706,
Across the country, 23 departments are now in "high vulnerability" and 37 in "moderate vulnerability", announced the agency.
"In metropolitan France, the progression of viral spread is exponential. The strong growth dynamics of transmission is worrying," said it in a statement.
"The number of patients tested is increasing, but this does not explain the increase in cases observed. Since the beginning of July, the number of patients screened has multiplied by a little more than 2 and the number of new cases by 12," it added.
The agency noted that the virus spread is particularly active among young adults, which "could be explained by the lack of respect for prevention measures by young adults".
