PAris, Aug 26, 2020, SPA -- The French health ministry said it had registered 5,429 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, a new post-lockdown high and a level of new infections not seen since the height of the epidemic in early April. The total number of people infected with the virus in France now stands at 253,587, acording to Reuters. The health ministry said figures for the cumulative death toll and for COVID-19 hospitalisations for Wednesday were not available yet due to a technical glitch. On Tuesday, the ministry reported the cumulative number of deaths had risen by 16 to 30,544 and it said 4,600 people were in hospital with COVID-19, including 410 in intensive care. --SPA 22:20 LOCAL TIME 19:20 GMT 0027 www.spa.gov.sa/w1398822