PARIS, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- France reported 52,518 cases of coronavirus infection in the past 24 hours, bringing the accumulative total of cases in the country since the outbreak of the epidemic to 1,466,433, according to data from the health authorities released on Monday.

Hospitalisations increased by 1,112 to 25,143, with 3,730 COVID-19 patients now in intensive care, up by 152 in one day.

The last time France reported a daily tally above 50,000 was on Oct. 25, at 52,010.

On Oct. 30, France entered a national lockdown to stem the brutal second wave of the epidemic. The government hopes that a one-month confinement will help bring the daily infection to around 5,000, but experts said more time is needed to let restrictive measures bear fruit.

A survey conducted by international market research group Ifop revealed that 56 percent of French people are afraid of being infected with the coronavirus in the coming weeks, and 71 percent said they would accept it if the authorities decide to prolong the confinement till after Dec. 1.

Health Minister Olivier Veran told Journal du Dimanche, the weekly newspaper published on Sundays, that it would be difficult to envisage big evenings for the New Year's Eve on Dec. 31.

To bring life back to normal, countries including France, Germany, Britain, China, Russia and the United States, are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.