France on Tuesday registered a surge in Covid-19 hospitalisations as a rise in new infections in mid-November led to an increase in patient numbers.

The health ministry reported that the number of Covid-19 patients in French hospitals rose by 618 to 12,714, the second-highest net one-day increase this year behind the net increase of 732 on April 6, when the patient tally was above 30,600.

Due to one of Europe's highest vaccination rates, a rise in new cases now has less impact on hospital numbers than in the spring, Reuters reports.

France also reported that the number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care units rose by 160 to 2,351, the second-highest increase this year. On April 6, ICU numbers rose by 193 to 5,626.