French army prepares to build makeshift hospital

In an unprecedented move during peacetime, the French army on Friday  started dispatching materials to build a makeshift military hospital in eastern France, the country's worst hit region by the pandemic.

The facility will house around 30 intensive care beds in order to ease the pressure on the local hospitals of Mulhouse and Colmar.

France has reported at least 10,995 confirmed cases of the new virus, including 372 deaths.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.

Worldwide, more than 244,500 people have been infected and more than 10,000 have died. Over 86,000 have recovered, most of them in China.