It is the highest number of new daily infections in Europe, according to data on Covidtracker.fr.

Since the start of the pandemic, only the United States and India have reported average daily new cases above 200,000.

On Monday, the US reported more than 512,000 new COVID-19 cases – the highest number of cases in a single day so far.

Britain on Tuesday also reported a record 129,471 new cases, but the data did not include figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland due to differences in reporting practices over the Christmas holiday period.

Cyprus also reported a record tally on Tuesday, while Turkey reached its highest number in months.

France’s previous record of 104,611 was set on Saturday, after the 86,852 high of November 11, 2020 was broken with two consecutive days of more than 90,000 new cases per day at the end of last week.

Despite the jump in new cases, the number of patients in hospital remained well below record levels, with patients in intensive care up by 83 to 3,416 on Tuesday, well below the highs of more than 7000 in early April 2020.

The seven-day moving average of new cases in France – which smooths out daily reporting irregularities – rose to a record of 87,500. On Sunday and Monday, the health ministry reported only about 30,000 new cases per day.

On Monday, the government announced new measures to curb infections, including limits on the size of big gatherings, a ban on eating and drinking in transport systems and the mandatory wearing of masks again outdoors.

-AAP