With 11,221 people testing positive for coronavirus in a 24-hour span and the national caseload nearing 2.27 million, France on Friday continued to see a downward trend in infections, data from the health authorities showed, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
The daily figure was lower than Thursday's 12,696 and well below the record 60,486 reported on Nov. 6, suggesting the country, which had introduced a second confinement in late October, is gaining control over the virus resurgence.
A total of 627 new deaths were reported Friday, taking the overall death toll to 54,767. Among them, 282 COVID-19 patients had died in hospitals from the respiratory disease, down from 324 registered a day before. Another 345 new deaths were reported in retirement homes over a three-day period.
A total of 26,311 COVID patients remain in hospitals for treatment, representing a daily fall of 392. Of those hospitalized, 132 left resuscitation units in the past 24 hours, reducing the total number of serious cases to 3,293.
France is planning a three-stage vaccination campaign that will initially target 1 million older people in nursing homes and their staff early next year.
Starting from February, the government aims to inoculate 14 million people with age-related risk factors or chronic diseases. A broader vaccination of the general public is scheduled for spring.