Paris, May 3 (IANS): The French government has decided to extend the state of health emergency until July 24 to fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Minister of Health Olivier Vrran announced.

The state of health emergency, imposed since March 24, is to be extended because lifting it, as previously scheduled on May 23, "would be premature" as the risks of an epidemic resurgence are present, Xinhua news agency quoted the Minister as saying on Saturday.

A bill on the extension of the state of health emergency will be debated next week in the Senate before being sent to the National Assembly, said government spokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye at the press conference.

Under the French law, a "state of health emergency" empowers the government to take special measures to restrict people's freedom of movement and rule by decree to requisition certain goods and services to fight against a health disaster.

France, one of the European countries worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic, has 168,518 cases, with 24,763 deaths.