
Number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in France as of March 25, 2020, by region
SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from a common cold to more severe conditions. But the virus in question here is a new coronavirus which causes a lung disease which has been named COVID-19 (Corona virus disease 2019). It made its first appearance back in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan. According to Chinese authorities, people infected with the virus could have contracted it by consuming products of animal origin from a large city market, the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. On March 11, the World Health Organization classified COVID-19 as a pandemic.
The situation in France
Although the number of confirmed cases is far less important than it is in China, France nevertheless features among the countries most affected by the outbreak. During a survey conducted in mid-March, 35 percent of French people stated being very worried about the spread of this new virus and 49 percent were rather worried. As of March 26, 1,333 people out of 25,600 infected had died from the virus and 3,907 had been listed as cured.
For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.