PARIS — France recorded nearly 10,000 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday — its highest daily tally since the beginning of the pandemic. The national health agency, Santé Publique France, revealed on Thursday afternoon that 9,843 new COVID-19 infections had been confirmed over the previous 24 hours. According to Worldometers, this is the highest one-day tally the country has recorded since the beginning of the outbreak. The number of hospitalizations has also risen with more than 2,200 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital over the past seven days, including 371 in intensive care units. Nineteen new deaths have also been recorded, bringing the total number of fatalities to 30,813 — the seventh-highest death toll in the world and second only to Italy in the European Union. France also now has the EU"s second-highest 14-day incidence rate with 135.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Spain, however, remains the most inflicted case-wise with a 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 infections reaching 263.2 per 100,000. A meeting of ministers and health officials is to be held on Friday to discuss measures to tackle the spread of SARS-CoV- 2 — the virus that causes COVID-19. President Emmanuel Macron told reporters on Thursday that the government has "decisions to make, which are as I say informed, but which are not simply scientific decisions." "When we make decisions to fight the virus, when we have to confine, we have, as we know, very negative consequences," he said, citing the impact the pandemic has had on other diseases, children"s education and the economy. France unveiled a €100 billion stimulus package earlier this month to kickstart the economy and curb unemployment. Growth in France shrunk by a massive 13.8 percent in the second quarter after contracting 5.8 percent in the first three months of the year. The Bank of France estimates Gross Domestic Product will contract 10.3 percent this year. — Euronews