The coronavirus accelerated its spreading in France, with 8,975 new cases diagnosed in the past 24 hours, the largest daily uptick since the outbreak of the epidemic in the country, French health authorities announced on Friday.
Between Thursday and Friday, 53 new clusters have been identified. An additional 292 people were admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 infection, bringing the total to 4,671. The number of patients in intensive care reached 473, up by 46.
The cumulative number of people in France who have died from COVID-19 stood at 30,686, revised down due to data corrections, according to figures released by the health ministry.
As of Friday, the cumulative number of cases has reached 309,156.
On Thursday, France confirmed more than 7,000 cases for the second day in a row.
