Some spaghetti shelves are emptied in a supermarket in Lille, France on March 16, 2020. The coronavirus situation in France is "deteriorating very fast," the country's director-general of health said Monday. (Photo provided by Sebastien Courdji/Xinhua)

PARIS, March 16  -- The coronavirus situation in France is "deteriorating very fast," the country's director-general of health said Monday.

"The number of cases double every three days," Jerome Salomon told national radio broadcaster France Inter, saying the outbreak in the country is "very worrying."

The total number of confirmed cases in France as of Monday reached 5,923, with 126 confirmed deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

Salomon announced earlier that 300 patients are now hospitalized in intensive care, half of whom are below 60 years of age.

France has moved to "stage 3," the highest emergency level of its epidemic response plan, which requires reinforced measures to reduce the impact of the pandemic.