COVID-19 infections rise dramatically in France

PARIS

France on Thursday saw a jump in coronavirus cases with 3,000 daily infections, the Health Ministry said.

The tally of infections stands at 149,071, with an increase of 3,325 cases over the previous day.

Meanwhile, with 69 new fatalities, the death toll has risen to 28,662.

The total number of fatalities in hospital is 18,326 and in nursing homes 10,335.

The number of hospitalizations was down markedly on Thursday with cases standing now at 15,208, a decrease by 472 patients from the day before. Those in intensive care fell to 1,429, down by 72 patients from Wednesday.

Despite the severity of the virus, most people experience mild symptoms and recover. Since the beginning of record-keeping for the disease, 67,191 people have recovered in France from the epidemic and have returned home.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by 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 almost 358,000 people, with total infections reaching over 5.9 million, while almost 2.4 million people have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.