COVID-19 hospitalizations in France slightly up

PARIS - The number of patients hospitalized for the COVID-19 infection in France rose by seven to 17,185 in the last 24 hours, the first such increase since mid-April, according to data released on Sunday by the Health Ministry.

The number of patients in intensive care continued the downward trend, falling by 10 to 1,655.

The number of confirmed cases, meanwhile, rose to 144,921, an increase of 115 -- the lowest daily increase since mid-March.

The overall death toll in hospitals and in social and medico-social establishments will be updated on Monday.

In the past two weeks of deconfinement, France has maintained almost all coronavirus-linked indicators in green. "But specialists remain cautious about a disease whose incubation time can reach 14 days. The coming week promises to be crucial for the risk of a new wave of contamination," reported BFM Television.

The government planned to enter a second phase of deconfinement on June 2 if the sanitary situation remains encouraging.