France's daily fatalities from coronavirus drop slightly

By Cindi Cook

PARIS (AA) - France stood steadfast in the battle against the coronavirus on Thursday, as the latest figures were reported by Jerome Salomon, the country's director-general of health.

The total number of deaths in France stood at 24,376, while the total number of cases reached 129,581.

On Thursday, there were 305 additional fatalities compared with 427 deaths on Wednesday, a drop of 122. The number of deaths in hospital stands at 207 while 98 people succumbed to the disease in nursing homes. The total fatalities in hospital to date is 15,244 and the total fatalities in nursing homes is 9,132.

Hospitalizations dropped on Thursday, with the number standing at 26,283, a drop of 551 patients from the day before. The number of those in intensive care fell to 4,019, down by 188 patients.

Since record-keeping started at the beginning of March, 49,476 people have returned home after recovering fully from the disease, according to the French Health Ministry.

At the start of Thursday's press conference, Salomon, along with French Health Minister Olivier Veran, presented three maps of the country's 101 departments, tracing emergency room visits, ICU activity and general patterns of the virus.

Their purpose is to follow the virus as it develops over the next week until May 11 when de-confinement starts to be adjusted accordingly, to lift confinement in the most logical fashion possible.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has spread to 187 countries and regions across the world. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed just over 231,400 people, with total infections just under 3.25 million, while just over 1 million people have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

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