France passes 10,000 coronavirus deaths

France has now recorded 10,328 deaths of people suffering from COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus disease, General Health Director Jerome Salomon said.
The country has recorded 7,091 deaths in hospitals and 3,237 deaths in nursing homes and similar institutions, Salomon said in a daily briefing.
The numbers have picked up sharply since authorities started compiling systematic returns from old people’s homes.
However, the rise in hospital deaths, at 607 in 24 hours, is similar to Monday’s increase.
“We are not yet at the peak, because every evening there are a few more patients hospitalised, and every evening there are a few more patients in intensive care,” Salomon said.
“And so we are still only in the rising phase of the epidemic, even though it is slowing a bit,” he added.
dpa/NAN.