Ireland became the latest country to smash its previous record number of daily COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, reporting 16,428 new infections as those requiring treatment in hospital also began to rise, the health department said.
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That topped the 11,182 reported on December 24 with the fast spreading Omicron accounting for almost all cases and making tests hard to come by. There are 568 coronavirus patients in hospital, sharply up on the December 25 two month low of 378.
The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital peaked at just over 2,000 in January during Ireland's deadliest wave when a barely manageable 221 filled almost every intensive care bed in the country. 93 patients currently require critical care.
Britain reported 183,037 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, a new daily record and over 50,000 more than the previous highest figure, according to government figures.
France is seeing a “tsunami†of COVID-19 infections, with 208,000 cases reported during the past 24 hours on Wednesday, a new national and European record, Health Minister Olivier Veran has told lawmakers.
France has been breaking infection records repeatedly during the past few days, with Tuesday’s 180,000 cases already the highest for a country in Europe, according to data on Covidtracker.fr.
“This means that 24 hours a day, day and night, every second in our country, two French people are diagnosed positive,†Veran said. “We have never experienced such a situation,†he said, describing the increase in cases as “dizzyingâ€.
The situation in French hospitals was already worrying because of the Delta variant, Veran said, with Omicron yet to have an impact, something he said would eventually happen.
“We have two enemies,†he said, referring to the two main variants. “As for Omicron, I would no longer talk about a wave. This is a groundswell, where several waves combine to form one massive wave,†he said.
Wearing masks on the streets of Paris will be mandatory starting from Friday, local authorities said on Wednesday, as the number of COVID-19 infections soared.
“Not complying with this rule will induce a fine of 135 eurosâ€, local authorities said in a press release. ■