PARIS (Reuters) - French health authorities reported 89 new deaths from coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the total to 264 or an increase of almost 51%, a much more marked rise than recently seen as the country was in its second day of a lockdown aimed at containing the outbreak.
During a press conference, health agency director Jerome Salomon added the number of cases had risen to 9,134, up from 7,730 on Tuesday, which is a rise of 18% in 24 hours.
Salomon said 931 people were in a serious condition, needing life support.
(Reporting Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Chris Reese) OLUSWORLD Reuters US Online Report World News 20200318T190822+0000