French hospitals see number of critical Covid-19 cases drop below 2,000
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France reported 131 new coronavirus deaths on Monday, bringing the total to 28,239, as the number of patients in intensive care units dropped below 2,000 for the first time since March.
Monday’s death toll marks a significant drop from the 483 fatalities reported on Sunday, though the latter figure took into account “additional data” provided by local health agencies.
The number of confirmed cases rose to 142,903 on Monday from 142,481 a day earlier.
The health ministry said the number of people in hospitals fell to 19,015 from 19,361 on Sunday and the number of people in intensive care units dropped to 1,998 from 2,087.
Both numbers — key indicators for the French health system’s ability to cope with the epidemic — have been on a downtrend for five weeks and peaked at more than 32,000 and more than 7,000 respectively in early to mid-April.
"The Covid-19 pandemic is still active," the ministry said, as fears of a second wave of infections linger in France, where junior high schools are now reopening their doors in some regions.
France began easing nationwide lockdown measures last Monday in an effort to revive its flagging economy, but the government has warned it could reverse that decision in the event of a sharp upturn in infections.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
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