Paris, December 18: Jerome Salomon, the French director for public health, said the evolution of the coronavirus outbreak in his country was concerning, after incidence almost doubled since last week.

"In France, the evolution of the epidemic is concerning. There is a tendency toward increased circulation of the virus," he told reporters at a weekly press conference. Second COVID-19 Wave Could 'Overwhelm' France, Says Health Official.

France recorded 18,254 new cases in the previous 24-hour period, up from a daily 10,000 seen last week. The French government hopes to contain the spread of the virus at 5,000 new cases a day.

Over 25,000 coronavirus patients remained in hospitals as of Thursday, 2,800 of them in intensive care. Almost 60,000 people have died since the start of the outbreak. France switched from a lockdown to night curfews on Tuesday.

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