PARIS - Infections with the more contagious COVID-19 Delta variant "now account for about 20 percent of new cases" in France, French Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Tuesday.

The Delta variant, first detected in India, "is gradually becoming dominant (in France) as it is in all countries in the world," Veran told France info radio.

The same virus variant had represented 9 to 10 percent of new infections according to numbers released a week ago.

Meanwhile, "its share keeps on increasing in percentage, not in absolute terms, as the total number of cases is decreasing," the minister added, urging people to remain vigilant.

On Monday, France confirmed 509 new COVID-19 cases, with the seven-day average of daily positive tests standing at 1,818, sharply down from around 40,000 recorded in early April.

COVID-19-related hospitalization data have steadily gone down since the country eased restrictions in May. As of Monday, 8,846 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized, with 1,304 critically-ill patients in intensive care, figures from the health ministry showed.