UPDATE 1-France again registers over 7,000 new COVID-19 infections, ICU numbers spike

PARIS, Sept 3- France registered more than 7,000 new c4 hours for the secos over 24 hours for the second time in two days, the health ministry said on Thursday, while hospitalisations for the virus also rose again. The health ministry reported that the cumulative total of confirmed cases rose to 300,181, up by 7,157, just shy of a 7,578 record set on March 31 during…

PARIS, Sept 3 (Reuters) – France registered more than 7,000

new c4 hours for the secos over 24 hours for the second time in

two days, the health ministry said on Thursday, while

hospitalisations for the virus also rose again.

The health ministry reported that the cumulative total ofconfirmed cases rose to 300,181, up by 7,157, just shy of a7,578 record set on March 31 during lockdown. It had reported anincrease of 7,017 cases on Wednesday and first reached the 7,000level again last week.

While the lockdown record for daily infections has not yetbeen broken, the seven-day moving average – which smooths outdaily reporting irregularities – rose to 5,783, and is above therecord set during lockdown for a seventh day.

During lockdown, which ran from March 17 to May 10, theseven-day moving average of new infections set a high of 4,537on April 1.

The number of people in intensive care with the disease roseagain for the fifth consecutive day on Thursday, up by 18 to464, and the number of people in hospital also rose for a fifthday in a row, up 11 to 4,643.

The death toll increased by 20 to 30,706, the fourthconsecutive day of a double-digit death toll.(Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Catherine Evans andBarbara Lewis)