France reports over 52,000 new virus cases

Health authorities on alert as new infections shatter previous records

By Cindi Cook

PARIS (AA) - France on Sunday reported 52,010 new coronavirus cases, a shocking rise over Saturday's cases of 45,422.

The new infections signal the biggest single-day increase since record-keeping for the epidemic began. The total number of cases has crossed 1.13 million.

The country saw 116 more fatalities on Sunday, down from 137 on Saturday, bringing the death toll to 34,761. The test positivity rate is also on the rise, currently standing at 17%.

Hospitalized cases stand at 12,176, up by 463 over Saturday, with 1,816 of those patients remaining in intensive care.

France is in a state of emergency, declared last week by both houses of parliament with a new bill passed on Saturday by the National Assembly that will extend the current state until Feb. 16, 2021. The bill will go to the Senate on Wednesday for confirmation.

A total of 54 departments in France are currently under a nightly curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time (2000-0500GMT) for the next three weeks.

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