(Bloomberg) -- France reported an increase in new deaths linked to the coronavirus on Wednesday, even as hospitalizations continued to decline.
Deaths rose by 427 to 24,087, the Health Ministry said in an emailed statement. France's public health service reported 198,215 coronavirus infections as of Wednesday, after restating some data because of erroneous analysis earlier this week.
France plans to ease strict lockdown measures starting May 11, with a plan to reopen shops as one of the first steps, as the number of patients in hospitals and intensive care has steadily dropped for the past two weeks.
Patients in intensive care because of the virus, which health authorities consider a key indicator of how the pandemic is impacting France's hospital system, fell by 180 to 4,207, the lowest in more than a month. Hospitalizations fell by 650 patients to 26,834, the biggest drop since the number first started falling April 15.
France's daily coronavirus figures have fluctuated amid inconsistent reporting from nursing homes, which were first included in the tally this month.
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