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HEALTH

Coronavirus death toll in France tops 500 as government orders 250 million face masks

The number of deaths from coronavirus in France rose once again on Saturday with the new total standing at 562, after another 112 fatalities in 24 hours. It comes as the government has vowed to order 250 million masks and step up testing.

Published: 21 March 2020 18:56 CET
Coronavirus death toll in France tops 500 as government orders 250 million face masks
A man walks past a banner reading "Thanks to health workers, police officers, fire fighters" on March 21, 2020 in Paris. AFP

France also counted some 14,459 confirmed cases of the virus, although health officials heave previously said the real number is likely much higher given not everyone with symptoms is tested.

On Saturday March 21st there were over 6,000 patients in hospital being treated for the disease with over 1,500 in intensive care.

Some 50 percent of those patients in intensive care (réanimation) are under the age of 60, health chiefs reported.

The French government's scientific council will on Monday make an announcement on whether the emergency lockdown will be extended and what other measures might be introduced, according to Health Minister Olivier Veran.  

Veran said on Saturday that the country will have to be patient to see the effects of being ordered to stay home.

Veran said: “the situation will continue to get worse before the effects of confinement can be seen.”

To help contain the COVID-19 virus, 250 million protective face masks will become available 'progressively”, the minister told a news conference.

There is currently a lack of masks, especially for health workers who are prone to catch and spread the disease.

Veran said the government was also seeking to multiply the coronavirus test kits available in order to increase testing once the restrictions on movement are lifted.

France has also launched a new website for the public to get information on the coronavirus symptoms so they can evaluate if they need might need medical help.

The site is maladiecoronavirus.fr

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HEALTH

France reports nearly 200 cholera cases in Mayotte

Nearly 200 cases of cholera have been reported on the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, which is struggling to contain the deadly epidemic.

Published: 21 June 2024 14:08 CEST
France reports nearly 200 cholera cases in Mayotte

“As of June 18th, 2024, 193 cases of cholera have been reported in Mayotte,” France’s Santé publique France health agency reported in its weekly update.

Of those, 172 were locally acquired cases, while 21 were in people infected in the neighbouring Comoros archipelago and countries on the African continent.

Cholera is an infectious disease typically causing severe diarrhoea, vomiting and muscle cramps. It spreads easily in unsanitary conditions.

Mayotte, which is home to around 320,000 people, reported its first locally acquired cases of cholera in late April, according to officials in Paris.

Two people have died since the beginning of the epidemic, one of them a three-year-old girl.

Santé publique France warned there was a particularly high risk of transmission in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, “as long as access to drinking water and sanitation is unsatisfactory”.

French authorities have been criticised for failing to secure access to drinking water to prevent a cholera epidemic in its overseas territory.

President Emmanuel Macron called for cholera to be ‘consigned to the past’ when he hosted a summit on Thursday on vaccine production in Africa.

Many parts of Africa have recently seen fatal outbreaks of cholera, which has highlighted the shortage of local vaccine production.

The Comoros, which has been affected by a cholera epidemic for the past four months, has recorded 134 deaths and more than 8,700 cases, according to a report published by local authorities this month.

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