PARIS: The French Public Health Agency has recorded over 232,200 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, a new high since the pandemic began in France, bringing the total number of Covid-19 cases in the country to 9,972,800.

According to source,  France has reported a daily total of over 200,000 new coronavirus cases for the third day in a row. More than 18,000 persons have been admitted to hospitals, with 3,543 of them in intensive care units, according to the agency. On Friday, the Regional Health Agency of Ile-de-France, which includes Paris, urged all hospitals to postpone non-urgent surgeries in order to free up ICU beds for Omicron patients.

According to the French Public Health Agency, 62.4 percent of Covid-19 positive tests on French soil in the last five days were related to the Omicron variant, while only 15% of positive results on December 13 were due to the Omicron variant. By Friday, approximately 53 million people in France, or 78.5 percent of the country's population, had gotten one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The Paris Police Department said on Wednesday that bars and restaurants in the city will close at 2 a.m. for New Year's Eve celebrations, and that consuming alcohol in public places will be outlawed beginning at 6 p.m. on December 31.

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