About 600 French Army Soldiers Infected With COVID-19 - Defense Minister

About 600 French Army Soldiers Infected With COVID-19 - Defense Minister

Around 600 military servicemen in France have contracted the coronavirus, Defense Minister Florence Parly said on Saturday, adding that it, nevertheless, did not affect the French army's combat readiness

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th April, 2020) Around 600 military servicemen in France have contracted the coronavirus, Defense Minister Florence Parly said on Saturday, adding that it, nevertheless, did not affect the French army's combat readiness.

"We have about 600 soldiers with COVID-19. This corresponds to the scale [of the outbreak] as it changes. We follow the situation very closely and adapting our practices accordingly. I point out that combat readiness has not been affected," Parly was quoted as saying by the French Le Progres newspaper.

She said many military servicemen were repatriated to France throughout the past week. Four soldiers, who have tested positive for COVID-19 while on an overseas mission in the Sahel, will be repatriated as soon as their health permits, Parly added.

According the defense minister, a civilian contractor of the French army had died from COVID-19 several days ago.

France has been one of the most severely affected countries from the very beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak on the European continent. As of Saturday, the French toll of COVID-19 has surpassed 83,000 cases, including 6,507 fatalities, according to statistics compiled by the Johns Hopkins University.