France detects 59 Omicron cases

The Omicron new variant continues to surge in France, with 59 cases testing positive as of December 9, according to France’s Public Health.

The number of cases doubled in less than a week, as the French Public Health had announced 25 cases of the Omicron variant during the previous epidemiological update on December 5.

On December 2, France reported its first two cases of the new Omicron after it was detected in an individual returning from Nigeria, and the second case was found in the Haut-Rhin region in an individual returning from South Africa.

For now, the new variant is spreading in five regions, including Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d´Azur, Île-de-France, Pays de la Loire Grand Est, and l’ile de Reunion.

The Delta variant is also still spreading in France, with 97.4% of PCR tests resulting positive for this variant for the period from November 29 to December 5.

COVID-19 cases are increasing in France, with 47,465 new infections reported on average each day, representing 90% of the peak, according to Reuters’latest COVID tracker on December 10.