France registers more than 1 lakh daily coronavirus cases for the first time

Italy : For the first time, France has recorded more than 100,000 virus infections in a single day, COVID-19 hospitalisations have also doubled over the past month. This comes amid reports of rapid increase in Omicron variant cases.

More than 1 in 100 people in the Paris region have tested positive in the past week, according to the regional health service. The new infections are mostly related to the new variant of coronavirus. Omicron is already dominant in Britain, right across the Channel.

Meanwhile hospitalizations in France have been increasing due to a surge in delta variant infections in recent months. More than 1,000 people in France with the virus died over the past week, bringing the country's overall death toll to more than 122,000.

President Emmanuel Macron's government is now looking for a way to tackle the infection. Some scientists and educators have urged delaying the post-holiday return to school, or suggested re-imposing a curfew. But France's education minister says schools should open as usual on Jan. 3, and other government officials are working to avoid measures that would hammer the country's economic recovery.

French government is also reportedly saying that the vaccination would be enough to fight the Omicron variant. The government is pushing a draft law that would require vaccination to enter all restaurants and many public venues, instead of the current health pass system which allows people to produce a negative test or proof of recovery if they're not vaccinated.