PARIS (Reuters) - France on Saturday reported a fall in new COVID-19 infections and in the number of patients being treated in hospital, slightly easing pressure on the health system as the country rolled out shots with a third approved vaccine.
The country registered 20,586 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, down from 22,139 the previous day and marking the third straight daily fall.
Hospitals were treating 27,369 people for the disease, down 245 from the previous day in a fourth consecutive daily fall.
The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care eased to 3,225, down 20 from the previous day, data showed.
The government has resisted calls from health experts to impose a new national lockdown but the level of new cases per day has remained relatively steady above 20,000.
The number of people in France who have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has reached 1.86 million, with 247,260 having also received their second dose, the health ministry said.
France has received a batch of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN), with 273,600 doses delivered, the ministry said in an statement.
The initial AstraZeneca shots are being reserved for health personnel under 65, with first injections taking place on Saturday.
A second batch of 304,800 doses will be delivered next week.
AstraZeneca is the third shot to be made available in France after Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA).
France is relying on the AstraZeneca shot to accelerate a vaccination campaign criticised for a slow start. However, it may obtain fewer deliveries than initially hoped after production setbacks sparked a row between the company and the European Union.
The ministry reported 191 new deaths linked to COVID-19, taking France's cumulative death toll in hospitals and nursing homes to 78,794.