France's COVID-19 death toll rises by 44 to 29,065

The new single-day deaths, lower than 81 registered on Wednesday and 107 on Tuesday, only include hospital casualties as those occurring in nursing homes and medico-social establishments will be updated on a weekly basis on Tuesdays, said the ministry in a statement.

The number of patients hospitalized decreased by 413 to 13,101, of whom 1,163 were receiving intensive treatment, down by 47.

France is now the world's fifth worst-hit country in terms of human loss caused by COVID-19 after the United States, Britain, Italy and Brazil.  Of the 29,065 people who have succumbed to the coronavirus-caused disease, 18,715 are in hospitals.

In total, the country had recorded 152,444 confirmed cases, a single-day increase of 767, higher than Wednesday's 352. A total of 69,976 patients had recovered and returned home since early March.

In a move to relaunch its battered economy, France has further unwind anti-coronavirus confinement on Tuesday by allowing non-essential businesses, including cafes, bars and restaurants, to resume their activities and people to move freely without restriction. They, however, have to respect barrier gestures and social distancing.

Meanwhile, France will not have its traditional military parade down the famous avenue of the Champs Elysees in Paris to celebrate the Bastille Day on July 14 this year "given the exceptional situation and the uncertainties that remain regarding the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in the coming weeks," the French presidency told media on Thursday.

The annual celebration, which traditionally attracts huge crowds, will be replaced by a limited military ceremony at Place de la Concorde with a tribute to honor medical staff fighting COVID-19, it said.