PARIS (Reuters), France became the sixth country to have reported more than 10,000,000 COVID-19-related infections in the six years since the pandemic. Official data were published Saturday.

French authorities have reported 219,126 confirmed new cases within 24 hours. This is the fourth consecutive day of more than 200k cases.

France joins the United States of America, India, Brazil and Britain in having more than 10,000,000 cases.

Saturday’s number was second only to Friday’s record of 232,200. On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron had warned that the following few weeks were difficult.

Macron’s New Year’s Eve speech did not include any mention of more restrictive measures for health. He also stated that the government should avoid further restricting individual freedoms.

However, the government stated earlier Saturday that children aged six and under will have to wear masks when they go into public places starting Monday. This was a change from 11 years ago.

Some big cities like Paris or Lyon have made it mandatory for all citizens to wear masks on the streets.

Seven-day average moving average for new French cases, which eliminates reporting errors daily, rose almost fivefold to 157,651 — a record high.

Over 24 hours, the number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations has increased by 96. This is a seven-month high of 18,811. However, this number is almost equal to the 33,497 record set in November 2020.

In 24 hours the COVID-19 death total rose by 110, to 123.851, which ranks 12th in global rankings. A seven-day average of daily new deaths per day has reached 186. This is the highest level since May 14.