PARIS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Thirty more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in France, bringing the total number to 130, Health General Director Jerome Salomon said Sunday.

Of those cases, 72 patients are part of a chain of contamination or a cluster, 35 returned from affected countries, 23 cases are under investigation, 7 have been detected by the systematic testing for severe pneumonia or acute respiratory distress, said Salomon at a daily press briefing.

France, the first in Europe to detect the COVID-19 on Jan. 24, has reported two coronavirus deaths so far.

"We are facing an epidemiological mosaic with very different situations at the regional and even municipal levels, hence, a difference in the instructions," he said.

France on Saturday had banned all gatherings expected to draw 5,000 people in confined spaces as well as events in an open environment.

In the northern French region of l'Oise, where the largest cluster had been detected with 47 cases, schools are closed until further notice and residents are recommended to limit their journeys.■