France: Coronavirus cases rise, fatalities remain low

The weekend brought a rise in cases of the the novel coronavirus in France, according to statistics from the country's Health Minsitry.

Since the start of the outbreak, the death toll in France stands at 29,633, with cases of infection rising slightly to 160,093, an increase of 1,452 cases over the previous day.

A total of 19 deaths in hospital were registered on Saturday. The total number of fatalities to date in hospital is 19,176. Fatalities in nursing homes ceased being reported, the last being recorded at 10,350.

The number of hospitalizations decreased on Saturday with cases coming in at 9,792, a drop by 133 patients on the day before. Those in intensive care fell to 715, down by 12 patients over Friday.

Despite the severity of the virus, most people experience mild symptoms and recover. Since the beginning of record-keeping for the disease, 74,302 people have recovered in France from the epidemic and returned home.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by the 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 nearly 462,000 people worldwide, with total infections reaching over 8.73 million, while almost 4.3 million people have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.