French coronavirus death toll tops 1,000, lockdown likely to be extended

A security guard stands by beds installed inside the Festival palace as Cannes Mayor David Lisnard decided to open a part of the palace to welcome needy and homeless as a lockdown is imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

France became the fifth country to report more than 1,000 deaths from coronavirus on Tuesday and a government body dealing with the outbreak suggested the national lockdown imposed last week for an initial 15 days should last at least six weeks.

Health Minister Olivier Veran told a briefing he could not determine at this stage when the lockdown would end. If the government were to follow the scientific council's advice, France would remain at a virtual standstill until April 28.

French Health and Solidarity Minister Olivier Veran speaks to the media after the first meeting of French scientists' council Research and Expertise Analysis Committee (CARE), at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France March 24, 2020. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS

A statement by the council, which advises President Emmanuel Macron on the coronavirus crisis, also said the lockdown was the only really efficient strategy at the moment and "needs to be strictly implemented".

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Monday the widespread lockdown in France could last several more weeks and his government was tightening restrictions on daily life even further.

Veran also said France would heed World Health Organization recommendations to increase coronavirus testing. Health agency chief Jerome Salomon said later France would soon be able to conduct 10,000 tests a day.

French Health and Solidarity Minister Olivier Veran speaks to the media after the first meeting of French scientists' council Research and Expertise Analysis Committee (CARE), at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France March 24, 2020. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS

Salomon reported 240 new deaths from coronavirus on Tuesday for a total of 1,100, an increase of 28% that made France the fifth nation to cross the 1,000-fatalities threshold after - China, Italy, Iran and Spain.

This tally only accounts for people who died in public hospitals, whereas several retirement homes have been reporting deaths in the double digits.

Salomon said health authorities would soon be able to tabulate data coming from retirement homes, which will likely trigger a more dramatic increase in registered fatalities.

French President Emmanuel Macron attends a conference call to install the CARE committee on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France March 24, 2020. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS

He said the total number of infections in France had risen to 22,300, a 12% jump in 24 hours.

Salomon added that 2,516 people were in a serious condition requiring life support, up by 21% from Monday, and that 8,000 hospital beds were now equipped with ventilators.

(Reporting Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

A woman reading a book at her window appears behind a blooming Japanese cherry tree in Lille, as a lockdown is imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread in France, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

A medical biologist, wearing a protective suit, swabs a driver?s nose at a drive-through testing site for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a parking lot in front of a laboratory in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris, France, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

A medical biologist, wearing a protective suit, holds a nose swab during testing at a drive-through testing site for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a parking lot in front of a laboratory in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris, France, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

A medical biologist, wearing a protective suit, puts a nose swab in a bag at a drive-through testing site for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a parking lot in front of a laboratory in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris, France, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

A medical biologist, wearing a protective suit, swabs a driver?s nose at a drive-through testing site for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a parking lot in front of a laboratory in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris, France, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Homeless people sleep inside the Festival palace as Cannes Mayor David Lisnard decided to open a part of the palace to welcome needy people and homeless as a lockdown is imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

Homeless dogs are seen in cages inside the Festival palace as Cannes Mayor David Lisnard decided to open a part of the palace to welcome needy and homeless as a lockdown is imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

Homeless people sleep inside the Festival palace as Cannes Mayor David Lisnard decided to open a part of the palace to welcome needy and homeless as a lockdown is imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

A member of the SAMU, the emergency service for homeless people, checks the body temperature of Jean Paul inside the Festival palace as Cannes Mayor David Lisnard decided to open a part of the palace to welcome needy and homeless as a lockdown is imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

French soldiers install medical beds at the military field hospital set up outside the Emile Muller Hospital in Mulhouse, France, March 24, 2020 during a lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus disease COVID-19. Sebastien Bozon/Pool via REUTERS

French soldiers take part in a drill at the military field hospital set up outside the Emile Muller Hospital in Mulhouse, France, March 24, 2020 during a lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus disease COVID-19. Sebastien Bozon/Pool via REUTERS

French soldiers take part in a drill at the military field hospital set up outside the Emile Muller Hospital in Mulhouse, France, March 24, 2020 during a lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus disease COVID-19. Sebastien Bozon/Pool via REUTERS

A French soldier prepares medical gear during a drill at the military field hospital set up outside the Emile Muller Hospital in Mulhouse, France, March 24, 2020 during a lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus disease COVID-19. Sebastien Bozon/Pool via REUTERS

FILE PHOTO: A woman, wearing a protective face mask, shops for fruit and vegetables at the Bastille Market in Paris as a lockdown is imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, March 19, 2020. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

FILE PHOTO: A woman, wearing a protective face mask, shops for fruits and vegetables at the Bastille Market in Paris as a lockdown is imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France, March 19, 2020. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

FILE PHOTO: French rescue team wearing protective suits carry a patient on a stretcher from Mulhouse hospital before being loaded into a helicopter as France faces an aggressive progression of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

A medical staff member wearing a protective mask looks through a window of a hospital, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Mulhouse, France March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

A patient infected with coronavirus is carried on a stretcher by a French rescue team before being transferred by a helicopter of the civil security (Securite Civile) from Strasbourg university hospital to Pforzheim in Germany as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in France, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

A patient infected with coronavirus is carried on a stretcher by a French rescue team before being transferred by a helicopter of the civil security (Securite Civile) from Strasbourg university hospital to Pforzheim in Germany as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in France, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

A postwoman of French postal service company La Poste wears?a protective face mask as she?delivers mails by bicycle in Nantes, France, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe