COVID-19: France sees rise in nursing home fatalities

By Cindi Cook

PARIS (AA) - Fatalities in France due to the novel coronavirus spiked on Thursday, particularly in the country's nursing homes, according to figures released by health officials.

A week after authorities eased lockdown measures in the country, a total of 354 fatalities were registered in a single day, up from 120 reported on Wednesday.

While deaths in hospitals stood at 126 people, a sharp rise in fatalities in nursing homes brought the number to 228. The total number of fatalities in hospitals was 17,224 and the total in nursing homes 10,201.

The overall death toll in France stands at 27,425, with the number of cases at 141,356 -- a rise of 976 over the previous day.

Hospitalizations dropped again on Thursday, and stand now at 20,463 -- another sizable drop of 608 patients. The number of those in intensive care fell to 2,428, down by 129 patients over Wednesday.

Despite the severity of the virus, most people experience mild symptoms and recover. Since the beginning of record-keeping for the disease, 59,605 people have recovered in France from the epidemic 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 just over 300,000 people, with more than 4.4 million total infections and recoveries exceeding 1.5 million, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.