France has reported a major drop in its daily death toll from the novel coronavirus.
The European country recorded 242 more deaths on Sunday, down from 369 new deaths the previous day, bringing the national tally to 22,856, according to health officials.
The number of new deaths that occurred in hospitals — 152 — was the lowest daily toll so far in the country’s battle against the outbreak.
France is one of the worst-affected countries in the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 162,000 diagnosed cases of COVID-19, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
The country and several others in Europe are preparing to loosen restrictions after several weeks of total lockdowns.
