France's new confirmed cases of coronavirus slow down

France's coronavirus deaths were four times higher on Monday than a day earlier but the increase of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were at a one-week low.

In a statement, the health ministry said the country's death toll rose by 54, or 0.2%, to 29,209, the fifth-highest total in the world. On Sunday, 13 COVID-19 deaths were reported. The figure could spike on Tuesday, the day now chosen by the government to add, once a week, data from nursing homes, which account for more than a third of the total deaths.

The number of confirmed cases rose by 0.1% to 154,188, which is lower than the rolling seven-day average of 0.2%. According to Reuters calculations, if probable cases of coronavirus in care homes are added, France's total number of cases stands at almost 191,00, the ninth-highest tally in the world on that basis.

The ministry said the number of people being treated in hospital for COVID-19 fell by 146 to 12,315. At the peak of the outbreak in mid-April that number reached 32,292. The number of people in intensive care fell by 29, or 2.8%, to 1,024, versus April 8 high of 7,148.