France on Monday reported its highest daily number of deaths from COVID-19 since the coronavirus epidemic began, saying 418 more people had died in hospital to bring the toll to 3,024.
There are now 20,946 people hospitalised in the country with COVID-19, with 5,056 of them in intensive care, according to the government.
France has been in lockdown since March 17 in a bid to slow the spread of the epidemic and officials have repeatedly warned it will take time for the measures to bear fruit.
The figures “are in no way going down, we are in the midst of the epidemic”.
He noted that the growth in infections in neighbouring Italy had seen a “relative slowing” in the last days and expressed hope that the figures in France could show signs of improvement at the end of this week, the top French health official Jerome Salomon told AFP.
“The aim of the confinement is to massively reduce the contacts between people,” he said.
More than 35,000 people have died worldwide from the coronavirus pandemic since it emerged late last year in China, most of them in Europe.
In total, 35,905 people have died, including 26,076 in Europe. Italy has the most deaths with 11,591, following by Spain with 7,340 and China with 3,304.
More than 740,00 cases have been officially detected in 183 countries and territories, including at least 408,203 in Europe, almost 150,000 in the United States and Canada with 2,635 deaths and 106,609 cases in Asia with 3,827 deaths.
The US has reported over 160,000 cases of COVID-19 and a death toll of over 3,000.
On Monday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said , “We call on countries to work with companies to increase production; to ensure the free movement of essential health products; and to ensure equitable distribution of those products, based on need”.
(With inputs from agency)