PARIS (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Jean Castex told Parliament on Tuesday that France had entered a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the seven-day average of new cases rose above 25,000 for the first time since Nov. 20.
French health authorities reported 29,975 new cases on Tuesday, a 4.5% jump versus last Tuesday's total and the sharpest week-on-week rise in a month and a half.
France is grappling with a steady rise of new cases, leading to a heavy strain on the country's hospital system, which prominent health experts say can be spared only by a new lockdown.
Like other EU countries, France has lagged far behind the United States or Britain in vaccinating its population.
President Emmanuel Macron is still hoping a vaccination drive can stave off the effects of a new pandemic wave triggered by more contagious variants, and thus prevent France from resorting to a third national lockdown.
But suspension of the use of the AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) vaccine, announced on Monday over safety concerns, could jeopardise the government's strategy.
The health ministry said there were 4,239 patients in intensive care units for COVID-19, up by 20 over 24 hours and setting a nearly four-month high. The total number of people hospitalized for the disease was up by 23, at 25,492, a high since Feb 24.
The number of people who have died went up by 408, at 91,170, the world's seventh-highest death toll. The seven-day moving average of deaths is 267.
With 4.11 million people infected since the start of the outbreak, France has the sixth-highest case count in the world.