08 October,2020 12:21 PM IST | Paris | IANS
People wearing a mask at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Pic/AFP.
France reported nearly 19,000 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, a new all-time high in the number of single-day infections since the pandemic hit the country earlier this year, stated health authorities.
On Wednesday, there were 18,746 cases, almost double of Tuesday's figure of 10,489, France 24 said in a news report.
With the new figure, the country's overall caseload stood at 653,509 and with 80 new fatalities, the toll increased to 32,445.
Responding to the new figures, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a TV interview that his government would introduce new stricter restrictions to curb the virus from spreading.
"In places where the disease is circulating too quickly, there will be new restrictions," France 24 quoted the President as saying.
In the wake of the spike in the number of fresh COVID-19 cases, bars across Paris were shut for two weeks from Tuesday.
The development came after the government raised the capital city's COVID-19 alert to the maximum level, which is imposed when the infection rate in a locality exceeds 250 per 100,000 people and at least 30% of intensive care beds are reserved for infected patients, the BBC reported.
On September 26, Marseille, the third biggest French city, closed all bars, restaurants and gyms also for a period of two weeks.
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