France records 833 deaths, highest single-day toll

France is reporting that 833 more people died of COVID-19 in hospitals and nursing homes over the previous 24 hours, its highest daily toll since the epidemic began.

“We have not reached the end of the ascent of this epidemic,” Health Minster Olivier Veran told reporters, as he announced the new toll which brought the total number killed in the coronavirus epidemic in France to 8,911.

France is now giving a daily combined toll of deaths in hospitals and nursing homes. Previously it had only given the hospital toll on a daily basis.

A health worker uses a sprayer to disinfect the corridor of a gymnasium used as a decontamination center for health worker and home-based medics, on April 6, 2020, in Trignac, France. (Loic VENANCE / AFP)

The French toll runs counter to other places in Europe, that have seen death tolls roll back slightly or flatten in recent days.

In hard-hit Italy, as well, the death toll jumped by 636 on Monday, an increase from the toll of 525 the day before.

Sunday’s toll was the lowest since March 19. It also represented a drop of 23 percent from the 681 deaths reported on Saturday.

Italy’s world-leading official death toll now stands at 16,523.

— with AFP