French hospitals registered 1,307 new coronavirus patients in the highest one-day increase since April 2, which saw 1,607 new patients, as the health system comes under increasing stress from a runaway infection rate.

According to a Reuters report, French health ministry data showed that France now has a total of 17,784 coronavirus patients in its hospitals, compared with a record 32,292 on April 14, at the height of the March-May lockdown.

The ministry also reported 26,771 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, from 52,010. The death toll went up by 257, taking the cumulative total since the start of the epidemic to 35,018.