France reports record 509 more coronavirus deaths, toll tops 4,000

Published April 1, 2020
Medical staff carry a patient infected with the COVID-19 into a TGV high speed train at the Gare d'Austerlitz train station on April 1, 2020 in Paris, prior to his evacuation, along with 35 other patients in two separate medical TGV towards hospitals of Brittany, western France, where the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus where  has been limited so far. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / POOL / AFP) — AFP or licensors
Medical staff carry a patient infected with the COVID-19 into a TGV high speed train at the Gare d'Austerlitz train station on April 1, 2020 in Paris, prior to his evacuation, along with 35 other patients in two separate medical TGV towards hospitals of Brittany, western France, where the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus where has been limited so far. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / POOL / AFP) — AFP or licensors

France on Wednesday reported its highest daily number of deaths from Covid-19 since the coronavirus epidemic began, saying 509 more people had died in hospital to bring the toll to 4,032, AFP reports.

There are now 24,639 people hospitalised in France with Covid-19, with 6,017 of them in intensive care, health official Jerome Salomon told reporters in his daily update. The death toll on Tuesday had risen by 499.

Medical staff carry a patient infected with the Covid-19 into a TGV high speed train at the Gare d'Austerlitz train station on April 1, 2020 in Paris, prior to his evacuation, along with 35 other patients in two separate medical TGV towards hospitals of Brittany, western France, where the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has been limited so far. — AFP
Medical staff carry a patient infected with the Covid-19 into a TGV high speed train at the Gare d'Austerlitz train station on April 1, 2020 in Paris, prior to his evacuation, along with 35 other patients in two separate medical TGV towards hospitals of Brittany, western France, where the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has been limited so far. — AFP

The French figures include only those who died in hospital and not those who died at home or in old people's homes.

The number of confirmed cases also rose by 4,861 to 56,989. Many cases however go unregistered because of a lack of testing equipment.

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