France said the number of deaths from the coronavirus rose above 25,000 on Monday, becoming the fifth country to pass that threshold after the United States, Italy, Britain and Spain, according to Reuters.

The daily number of new fatalities also sped up again after several days of decline.

The number of people who have died from the Covid-19 respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus increased by 306, or 1.2 per cent, to 25,201 — the sharpest rate of increase in four days, government data showed. On Sunday, only 135 new deaths were reported — the lowest figure in more than a month.

Total confirmed cases rose by 576 to 131,863, well below the 3,000 President Emmanuel Macron's government has set as the upper limit before it would reverse a decision to partially lift a national lockdown on May 11.