This Wednesday 8th April 2020, Jérôme Salomon, Director General of Health announced 541 additional deaths in hospitals.
An ever heavier balance sheet. This Wednesday 8th April 2020, during a press point, the Director-General of Health, Jérôme Salomon, announced 541 additional coronavirus deaths in hospitals since the last report released the day before.
A total of 10,869 deaths have been reported and 82,000 confirmed cases have been identified since the start of the epidemic on March 1st.
💬 On compte aussi 7 048 cas graves, c’est un record pour la France. 482 nouveaux patients ont été admis en réanimation, un chiffre “considérable”, insiste Jérôme Salomon. Le solde est de 17 patients en plus par rapport à hier
Suivez le live 👇https://t.co/lEw4XtXnxF pic.twitter.com/n3XM3TPnaj
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) April 8, 2020
But the Ehpad and the medico-social establishments were not able to provide their figures due to a technical problem on the application, underlined Jérôme Salomon.
More than 30,000 people are currently hospitalized and 7,148 serious cases, an absolute record in France, have been identified.
And in the world?
Covid-19 affects 184 countries. The world has 1,450,000 confirmed cases, 83,568 deaths and 308,000 people cured. The United States is the most affected country with 400,000 cases and 13,000 deaths. Europe remains the epicentre of the epidemic with 700,000 people infected and 58,000 dead.
Read also: Covid-19: containment measures are reinforced in France
The Director-General of Health reiterated the importance of containment. “By staying at home, one life is saved every 8 minutes. ”
GDP fall by around 6%
In addition to the heavy human toll, France must face an unprecedented recession since 1945. According to an estimate published on Wednesday by the Banque de France, GDP fell by around 6% in the first three months of the year, the worst quarterly performance of the French economy since the end of the Second World War.
In general, activity was around one-third (-32%) lower than normal over the last fortnight in March. “The (economic) impact will be considerable, it is still far too early to appreciate it” totally, warned this Wednesday afternoon Prime Minister Edouard Philippe before the Senate.
Food prices have not increased
Despite these difficulties, the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire wanted to reassure the French on Wednesday: there will be no shortage of essential products.
He also stressed that the prices of food products did not, or only very little, increase in March 2020: “there was + 0.01% evolution last month”.
However, an increase in fruit and vegetable prices has been observed in recent days. For Bruno Le Maire, this is explained by the fact that the more expensive French products have replaced European products in supermarkets.
New speech by Emmanuel Macron
Will the confinement be extended again and, above all, for how long? Are avenues already being explored to organize a “deconfinement” on the national territory? What about wearing a mandatory mask? It is likely that these questions answer Emmanuel Macron in a new televised speech scheduled for Thursday 9th April at 8pm.
It will be the fourth time that the Head of State has addressed the French solemnly since the start of confinement.
A Coronavirus Symptoms Questionnaire
Do you have a cough, fever, difficulty breathing and are you worried about having Covid-19? The government launched an online questionnaire on Wednesday to better guide the French regarding the symptoms of the disease.
Once on the site, which is based on data from the Ministry of Health , you are asked several questions, such as your age category, whether you are eating properly, or even if you are short of breath. From there, several opinions are issued.
The period for payment of fines doubled
If you have been flashed for speeding on the road since March 12, almost since the establishment of containment in France, do not panic: the Ministry of the Interior has agreed to double the payment times and contesting fines .
The time limit for contesting a fine has been reduced from 45 to 90 days and that for paying it from 30 days to two months.
