Paris, May 3
At least 24,760 people infected with the COVID-19 have died since March 1 in France, inching up by 0.65 per cent on daily basis, while the number of hospitalised patients and those in intensive care confirmed a downward trend, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
The one-day deaths caused by the respiratory illness stood at 166, a slower pace compared with Friday's 218 and Thursday's 289, Xinhua reported.
Hospitalised COVID-19 patients went down to 25,827 and those intensive care stood at 3,827. In total, 130,979 people have contracted COVID-19 in France since March 1, the ministry data showed.
"As May 11 approaches, the collective effort that is bearing fruit and slowing the epidemic must not be relaxed," said the ministry.
"The scrupulous application of barrier gestures, respect of the minimum physical distance of one meter and drastic reduction of contacts are the best way to fight together against the spread of the virus," it added.
France has put its 67 million population under confinement in mid-March. Now, it's preparing a lockdown exit by opening gradually schools and shops and unwinding restriction on people movement as a slowing-down spread of the virus put less pressure on hospitals in the last three weeks.
Meanwhile, the two-month state of health emergency declared by the government on March 24, was to be prolonged by another two months to stem the coronavirus outbreak and address a possible resurgence of the COVID-19 when the confinement ends on May 11, Health Minister Olivier Veran announced early Saturday after a cabinet meeting.
Under the French law, a "state of health emergency" empowers the government to take special measures to restrict people's freedom of movement and rule by decree to requisition certain goods and services to fight against a health disaster.
"We are going to have to perform a long-distance run," said Veran. As part of the planned measures, anyone arriving from abroad and infected with the virus would be obliged by law to be quarantined.
"We are going to have to live with the virus for a while," said Interior Minister Christophe Castaner. "Learning to live with the virus, that's what's at stake in the coming months."
The bill on the extension of the state of health emergency will be debated next week in the Senate before being sent to the National Assembly, said government spokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye. It is expected to become law by the end of the week.
Coronavirus infections drop in Italy as lockdown draws to a close
Rome, May 3 (IANS) As a national lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic is drawing to a close, Italy on Saturday posted a decrease in new infections, according to the latest numbers released by the Civil Protection Department.
The number of new infections were 1,900 in the last 24 hours, a drop from Friday's figure, bringing the total number of infections, fatalities, and recoveries to 209,328, Xinhua reported.
There were 1,665 additional recoveries, raising that total to 79,914.
The death toll registered on Saturday was 474, bringing the total to 28,710 since the pandemic first broke out in the northern Lombardy region on February 21.
Of those infected, 1,539 are in intensive care (down by 39 patients compared to Friday) and 17,357 are hospitalized with symptoms (down by 212 patients). The rest, or 81 per cent of those who tested positive, are in isolation at home.
The national lockdown, which went into effect on March 10, will end on May 3.
Speaking at a nationally televised press conference earlier in the day, Extraordinary Commissioner for the Coronavirus Emergency Domenico Arcuri explained what lies ahead after the lockdown, in what the government has dubbed Phase Two.
"We must all be aware that on May 4, an even tougher challenge begins," said Arcuri.
He compared Phase Two to "the second half of a football match, and as we all understand by now, nobody knows how long it will last or how it will end."
"The relative freedom we are each about to gain must be ruled in the service of protecting the health of all," Arcuri said.
"We have distributed 26.7 million masks over the past week to regional authorities across Italy, with a total of 165.5 million masks distributed since the beginning of emergency," said the commissioner.
Arcuri added that in May there will be a distribution of 12 million masks a day, and that this number will rise to 18 million a day in June, 25 million in July-August, and 30 million by the time schools open in September.
