France sees another decline in COVID-19 cases, deaths

PARIS

France saw further declines in coronavirus cases and deaths Sunday as the country looked forward to the arrival of a vaccine in early January and a gradual return to some semblance of normalcy.

Infections fell to 11,022 from 12,923 on Saturday, continuing a trend throughout the week in a welcome sign.

The total number of confirmed cases stands at 2,292,497 since record-keeping began in March, according to the Ministry of Health.

Fatalities fell to 175 from 216 on Saturday. The official death toll since March stands at 55,155.

Hospitalizations also declined, falling to 8,564 from 8,589 the previous day. A total of 1,163 people remain in intensive care, down by just one patient.

The positivity rate in France remained steady at 10.7%.​​​​​​​

Worldwide, the death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 1.5 million since the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China in December last year. The number of infections totals nearly 67 million and recoveries nearly 43 million, according to the latest figures from US-based Johns Hopkins University.