France reports lowest number of Covid-19 deaths in seven months

France's vaccination campaign has been gaining pace, with 34.5 per cent of the population receiving at least one shot

File photo: A medical worker administers a dose of the "Comirnaty" Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in a vaccination centre in Paris. Reuters

France's daily Covid-19 death toll fell to a seven-month low of 70 on Sunday, while the seven-day moving average of daily cases slipped below 13,000 for the first time since late 2020.

French Health Ministry figures published on Sunday also showed the number of people being treated for the disease in intensive care units has fallen for the 20th consecutive day, by 29 to 3,515, almost half the total five weeks ago.

France has been gradually loosening its lockdown since the start of May and hopes to lift all major restrictions by the end of June.

The country's Covid-19 contact-tracing app has been downloaded by 16.5 million people, or 24.6 per cent of the French population, the Minister for Digital Affairs said earlier.

That total passed the minimum level the app needed to work efficiently.

After a slow start, France's vaccination campaign has been gaining pace, with 34.5 per cent of the population receiving at least one inoculation as of Sunday and 14.5 per cent having two shots.

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