France reports 761 more deaths, raising tally to 18,681

By Cindi Cook

PARIS (AA) - France on Friday confirms 761 more fatalities over the last 24 hours, raising the country's death toll to 18,681.

For the ninth day in a row, the most serious cases continued to decline, with hospitalizations dropping to 31,190 from 31,305 on Thursday, a drop of 115 people. There are 221 less people in intensive care in France as well, a drop from 6,248 to 6,027.

France's fatalities on Friday totaled 761, with 429 of those in hospitals and 332 in nursing homes. The total number of deaths in hospitals currently stands at 11,478, with 7,203 of them in nursing homes. Throughout France, the number of cases reaches 109,252, a rise of only 405 cases over Thursday.

Jerome Salomon, the director-general of health, delivered the statistics in his daily press briefing.

Overall, 18,681 people died from the coronavirus since the beginning of March in France, while 34,420 have returned home after recovering from the disease.

France's lockdown ends on May 11, with the Director-General advising the French to maintain strict adherence to social distancing and barrier gestures until then. Gradually, schools, day-care centers, and businesses will open, followed by cafes, bars, and restaurants.

Worldwide, there are over 2.21 million cases of coronavirus with nearly 151,000 reported deaths. Over 564,500 people have now recovered from the coronavirus, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Despite the severity of the virus, most people experience mild symptoms and recover in due time.