COVID-19 fatalities rise in France

By Cindi Cook

PARIS (AA) - Sunday saw a rise in the daily death toll from coronavirus in France due to many more patients succumbing to the disease in nursing homes, while the number in hospitals was at its lowest, according to the latest statistics reported by the country's Health Ministry.

A total of 483 fatalities were registered on Sunday, a rise by 379 cases, compared to Saturday. While the new deaths in hospitals stood at 54, in nursing homes 429 people were reported to have perished. The total number of fatalities to date in hospitals is 17,466 and the total in nursing homes is 10,642.

Since the start of the outbreak, the death toll in France stands at 28,108 with cases of infection up to 142,411, a rise by 120 cases over the previous day, the ministry added.

The number of hospitalizations dropped again on Sunday with cases standing now at 19,361, a drop of 71 patients. Those in intensive care fell to 2,087, down by 45 patients over Saturday.

Despite the severity of the virus, most people experience mild symptoms and recover. Since the beginning of record-keeping for the disease, 61,213 people have recovered in France from the pandemic and have returned home.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has spread to 188 countries and regions across the world. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed nearly 314,000 people, with total infections over 4.68 million, while more than 1.72 million people have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.