Paris/Xinhua/UNI: France saw COVID-19 deaths rose by 242 to 22,856 as of Sunday, the lowest daily increase this week, bringing relief to the health system of the country which is planning to lift the lockdown on May 11, data from the Health Ministry showed.
The daily increase of deaths dropped to 1 percent, slower than 1.65 percent on Saturday, 1.8 percent on Friday, 2.4 percent on Thursday, 2.6 percent on Wednesday and Tuesday, and 2.77 percent on Monday.
Some 28,217 people who caught the respiratory disease were receiving treatment in hospitals. The number of critically-ill patients dropped by 43 to 4,682. However, admissions to the intensive care units, all causes combined, were still above the country's capacity of 5,000 hospital beds equipped with ventilators, the ministry said.
The total of positive cases now stands at 124,575, up by 461 in the last 24 hours, while 44,903 patients have recovered and returned home, it added in a statement.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced on Sunday in a Twitter message that he would present the government's strategy for lockdown exit to parliament on April 28. Lawmakers will then vote on the de-confinement measures.
The plan would focus on six key issues -- health (masks, tests, isolation of infected people...), school, work, businesses, transport and gatherings, he added.
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