French coronavirus death toll up by nearly 1,000 in a day

The number of people who have died from coronavirus infection in France jumped by nearly 1,000 to 13,197 but the number of people in intensive care units fell slightly for the second day in a row as the effect of nationwide confinement started to show.

The health ministry said 7,004 people were in intensive care, a fall of 62 or 0.9% following a 1% fall on Thursday. "We seem to be reaching a plateau, albeit a high level," health ministry director Jerome Salomon told a daily press briefing by video.