On Monday, the number of persons hospitalised in France with COVID-19 increased by 767 to 22,749, the highest number since April 2021, as a surge in Omicron infection rates pushed up hospitalizations. Net new hospital admissions were still significantly below the highs of November and December 2020, when they topped 700 for nearly a month and COVID-19 hospitalizations peaked at 33,497 on November 16, 2020

Health Minister Olivier Veran told MPs that the Omicron coronavirus type causes less serious problems than earlier versions, but because it is extremely infectious, hospital admissions are rapidly increasing.

Due to weekend reporting lags, the number of new infections reported drops dramatically. The one-day infection total has topped 300,000 three times in the last seven days, including more than 296,000 on Sunday.

The seven-day moving average, which smooths out daily reporting inconsistencies, peaked at over 55,000 in 2020, but was surpassed shortly before Christmas 2021 as the Omicron variation spread like wildfire in France.
Since then, it has continued to climb almost unabated. COVID-19 critical care unit admissions increased by 57 to 3,904 on Monday, the highest amount since mid-May last year.

Meanwhile, if one of their classmates is infected with the coronavirus, French schoolchildren will be able to undertake self-tests rather than a PCR test, according to French Prime Minister Jean Castex.

COVID-19 critical care unit admissions increased by 57 to 3,904 on Monday, the highest amount since mid-May last year.

Source: Zeenews