The French Health Ministry reported 11,395 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Tuesday, jumping above the 10,000 threshold for the first time in four days amid fears of a third lockdown in the country.

France, which launched its gradual vaccination campaign Sunday, also saw the number of persons hospitalized for the disease rise for the fourth day running, a sequence unseen since Nov. 13.

France's cumulative total of cases now stands at 2,574,041, the fifth-highest in the world.

The seven-day moving average of new infections, which averages out weekly data reporting irregularities, stands at 11,871, more than twice as high as the government's target of less than 5,000.

The COVID-19 death toll was up by 969, at 64,078, versus a seven day moving average of 339.