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New announcements to fight coronavirus. On Saturday, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe and his Minister of Health Olivier Véran held a press conference during which they presented several measures to try to curb the spread of the virus, while the toll has once again increased. 2,314 people have died in France since the start of the epidemic, with 319 new deaths in 24 hours. Follow the situation live.
The main information:
- 2,314 people died of coronavirus in France
- The government has ordered 1 billion masks and wants to ramp up testing
- Italy crossed the 10,000 dead mark
Balance sheet increases with 319 new deaths
The new coronavirus has caused 319 new hospital deaths in 24 hours in France, bringing the death toll to 2,314 since the start of the epidemic, according to figures published on Saturday on the government website. According to this latest assessment, which brings to 37,575 the number of confirmed cases in the country, 17,620 patients are hospitalized (+ 1,888) including 4,273 in intensive care. And 6,624 were able to return home, including 926 in the past 24 hours.
Many government announcements
After confirming Friday the extension of the confinement until April 15, Édouard Philippe held a press conference. Noting that the fight "was just beginning", the head of government and his Minister of Health Olivier Véran announced in particular that the government wanted to increase the number of beds in intensive care to "14 to 14,500", against 5,000 initially, but also that France had ordered "over a billion" masks, notably from China.
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Olivier Véran also assured that France would go up to speed with "50,000 classic tests" per day by the end of April, to which will be added "more than 100,000" rapid tests per day "in June". Saturday morning,
Dozens of patients transferred
To unclog hospitals in the Grand Est and the Paris region, several patient transfers took place on Saturday, while others could take place on Sunday. On Saturday morning, two patients were boarded by a military helicopter in Metz in the direction of Germany. Forty patients who were hospitalized in the intensive care units of Burgundy-Franche-Comté hospitals were transferred to the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
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Over 30,000 dead worldwide
At least 640,778 cases of infection, including more than 30,000 deaths, have been officially declared in 183 countries and territories since the onset of the pandemic in China in December, according to an AFP count from official sources. With 10,023 deaths including 889 recorded in 24 hours, Italy alone accounts for almost a third of deaths worldwide linked to the coronavirus. The contagion, however, continues to slow slowly, while a total of 92,472 cases have been recorded.
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Second most mourning country in the world by the pandemic with 5,690 deaths, Spain has recorded 832 additional deaths in the last 24 hours, a record, and more than 8,000 new cases.
In the United States, the number of deaths exceeded 2,000 on Saturday, while the number of cases jumped to more than 120,000, according to Johns Hopkins University, the count of which refers. Donald Trump spoke of a possible placement in "quarantine" in New York State.