France sees COVID-19 cases rise in 2 regions

PARIS

France's Health Minister Olivier Veran in a radio interview Thursday morning said COVID-19 cases have risen in two regions over the past month.

The northern regions of Ile-de-France and Mayenne have seen a surge in cases.

The health minister said they have located specifically where infections are occurring. "Most of the cases are in closed or confined places, in which we know how to identify sick people," he said.

To date, there are 64,364 active infections in France and 210,568 total infections.

The death toll tops 30,000 in the country.

In Paris, hospital admissions are on the rise. Last Thursday, marked the first day those admitted to intensive care rose since lockdown was lifted in May.

At Paris's Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital, a new six-bed unit just opened to handle an increase in cases in July.

The worrying trend is in the virus' increasing circulation, say experts like Professor Yazdan Yazdanpanah, head of the Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the Bichat Claude-Bernard Hospital in Paris.

"We see approximately one patient infected with COVID-19 per day whereas it was one per week after the de-confinement," he said.

In Mayenne, infections quadrupled in June with 50.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the past seven days.

A massive testing drive was launched on Monday, the goal to test at least 300,000 Mayenne inhabitants. Those who wish to be tested may do so without a prescription.