PARIS (Reuters) - Three more people have died from coronavirus infection in France on Thursday, taking the total to seven, while the number of confirmed infections rose by 138 to 423, a health official said.

A total of 23 people are in a very serious condition, health agency director Jerome Salomon said at a daily briefing about the virus.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a video on the Elysee palace website that it now appeared to be “inevitable” the coronavirus outbreak will develop into an epidemic in France.