The French health ministry has reported 8,822 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, sharply up from 3,093 a day earlier as the country, in unison with most of the European Union, started its vaccination programme.
According to Reuters, France’s cumulative total of cases now stands at 2,559,686, the fifth-highest in the world.
The seven-day moving average of new infections, which averages out weekly data reporting irregularities, stands at 12,333, an 11-day low.
The death toll was up by 173, at 62,746.
