'First 15 days of April difficult, fight's just begun': French PM Philippe on COVID crisis

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Saturday said the "fight has just begun" against the new coronavirus, warning the first 15 days of April will be "even more difficult".

As of Saturday, France had 37,575 confirmed cases and 2,314 deaths — with 319 new deaths in the last 24 hours, health authorities said.

Health Minister Olivier Veran announced France ordered more than one billion protective masks, mainly from China, to try to make up for a shortage that is being felt in nations fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

The new coronavirus has caused a global pandemic that has sickened at least 605,000, killed 28,000 worldwide, crippled economies and forced restrictions on the movement of millions of people in an effort to stop the virus from spreading further and overwhelming health care systems.