France reports 78 more coronavirus deaths, bringing total to 450

20 March 2020, 9:07 pm

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PARIS — France reports 78 more deaths from the coronavirus over the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll from the outbreak in the country to 450 people.

Top French health official Jerome Salomon tells reporters that 12,612 people were now confirmed by tests in France to have been infected with the coronavirus, while warning this was a “minimal figure” compared with the real number of those infected.

He says that 5,226 people had been hospitalized with the virus, with 1,300 of them in intensive care. “Half of the patients in intensive care are under 60,” he says, warning that the epidemic can hit “young adults” too.

— AFP