Paris, May 17 (IANS): France had registered 96 new deaths from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, fewer than the previous two 24-hour periods, while the balance of the coronavirus-related hospitalization remains negative, France's Health Ministry said.

According to the ministry, the 96 new single-day deaths were lower than 104 registered on Friday and 351 on Thursday. So far, 27,625 people have succumbed to the coronavirus-caused disease across France, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

Meanwhile, France is now the world's fourth worst-hit country in terms of human loss caused by COVID-19 after the United States, Britain and Italy.

In a statement, the ministry said the number of patients with the coronavirus, now at 19,432, was below 20,000 for the second consecutive day, of whom 2,132 were receiving intensive treatment, down by 71.

As of Saturday, the country had recorded 142,291 confirmed cases, a single-day increase of 372, slower than Friday's 563. A total of 61,066 patients had recovered and returned home since early March.

"The COVID-19 epidemic remains active and the virus is still circulating in France. So, we have to be careful and respect all the barrier measures," the ministry said.