France became the fourth country to report more than 23,000 coronavirus-linked fatalities on Monday, while the number of new confirmed cases rose at its sharpest pace in almost two weeks, reports Reuters.
The latest figures from the Health Ministry come a day before prime minister Édouard Philippe is due to present to parliament the government’s plan to unwind national lockdown that has been in place since March 17 and is due to expire on May 11.
The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 - the lung disease caused by the new coronavirus - fell for the 13th day running to 28,055, while the number of people in intensive care decreased for the 19th consecutive time to 4,608.
But the number of deaths rose by 437 to 23,293, its sharpest rate of increase in four days. And the total number of confirmed cases was up 3,764, at 128,339. This 3% increase was the highest since April 14.