France's Minister for Health has issued a stark warning about the growing number of cases of Covid-19, describing the situation as tense and worrying.
Olivier Veran said the new variants of the virus had now become the norm in France, describing them as more contagious and more dangerous.
He said the variants were responsible for more admissions to intensive care than the original version of the virus. There are currently 3,992 people in intensive care with the virus in France.
The minister said a new patient is admitted to ICU every 12 minutes in the Ile-de-France region where the capital Paris is situated.