France sees decline in virus cases for 12th day running

By Cindi Cook

PARIS (AA) - The week has kicked off on a positive note for France as the coronavirus outbreak appears to be lessening its grip on the country.

For the 12th consecutive day, the numbers in all sectors in which the virus is recorded have dropped.

France saw 553 fatalities on Monday, with 450 of those in hospital and 103 in nursing homes. Since the start of the outbreak, the total deaths in hospitals have stood at 12,513 and 7,752 in nursing homes.

"There is a drop, which is very small, the decline is very slow," said Jerome Salomon, director-general of health, adding, "But there is a very high plateau."

Overall, 20,265 lives have been lost from the coronavirus since the beginning of March in France, while 37,409 people have returned home after recovering fully from the disease.

Hospitalizations on Monday were reported at 30,384, a drop of 226 over Sunday. The number of those in intensive care also fell to 5,863 on Monday, a drop of 61 patients. The number of total infections has stood at 114,657.

Salomon emphasized that the social distancing and barrier gestures adhered to are having a positive impact on outcomes. Lockdown in France will stay in place until May 11.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has spread to at least 185 countries and regions across the world. Europe and the U.S. are currently the worst-hit regions.

Worldwide, just over 2.44 million cases of coronavirus have occurred with nearly 167,500 reported deaths. Recovery is very possible, even for those once very sick, as just over 640,000 people have now recovered from the virus, 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.