France: Death toll rises to 860, with 5 doctors

PARIS

In a grim reminder of continuing losses in France due to coronavirus, the Health Ministry Monday announced a death toll of 860, up 184 from the day before, along with five doctors taken by the disease.

The total number of reported cases stands at 19,856, a rise of 3,176 from Sunday, Health Minister Olivier Veran said in a press conference.

A total of 2,082 of the patients are in intensive care, he added.

In fight against coronavirus, a total of five doctors have succumbed to the virus.

The doctors who passed away came from various parts of France: Jean-Jacques Razafindranazy, 67, died over the weekend in the hard-hit Oise region in the north. He had come out of retirement to aid in fighting the epidemic. Jean-Marie Boegle, a gynecologist, fell into a coma eight days ago after initially testing negative for the virus. He died at home on Sunday in Dijon.

The virus also claimed Dr. Sylvain Welling, 60, Dr. Mahen Ramloli, 66, and Dr. Olivier-Jacques Schneller, 68, all three in Eastern France.

President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation in a televised address last week and expressed the gravity of the situation.

"We are at war, with an invisible enemy," he said.

On Monday, France entered its second week of mandatory lockdown, with the public told to stay home and only leave for necessary outings.

Back on January 24, the first two cases of the virus arose in France, reported by then-Minister of Health, Agnès Buzyn.

The first reported death -- which was also the first in Europe and outside of Asia -- occurred Feb. 24 when an 80-year-old Chinese man, a tourist from Hubei Province, China, perished at the Bichat Hospital in Paris.

After emerging in Wuhan, China last December, the virus has spread to at least 168 countries and regions around the globe, with over 360,000 cases worldwide, and over 15,000 deaths, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.