(Bloomberg) --
France reported the most new coronavirus deaths and cases in four days on Tuesday after the country's lockdown was extended into May. The number of intensive-care patients dropped for a sixth day.
Deaths linked to the virus rose by 762 to 15,729 fatalities, according to data published online by the health ministry. New recorded infections rose by 6,524 to 143,303.
France forecasts its economy will contract 8% this year, after President Emmanuel Macron said lockdown measures aimed at checking the coronavirus outbreak will be extended to May 11. The International Monetary Fund predicts a global contraction of 3%, the biggest downturn since the Great Depression. Recovery in 2021 will depend on the pandemic fading in the second half of the year, allowing confinement efforts to be gradually scaled back, the IMF said.
“The pandemic is still active; for several days we've been observing a plateau,” Director General For Health Jerome Salomon said in a briefing in Paris. The percentage of the population that has contracted the virus remains low, he said.
Spain and Italy, the worst-hit countries in Europe, have started to report fewer new daily cases after weeks of social distancing.
The number of patients in intensive care, which French health authorities consider a key indicator of the outbreak's intensity, fell to 6,730, the lowest since April 3.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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