The essential
The number of patients in intensive care is increasing in France to reach 1,868 cases.
With 90 additional deaths, the toll of the epidemic in France now stands at 33,392.
The state of health emergency has entered into force with a first curfew between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. for the inhabitants of the Île-de-France but also of the metropolitan areas of Lyon, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier, Saint-Etienne , Aix-Marseille, Rouen and Grenoble.
Cinemas and theaters changed their schedules and programming at the last minute to accommodate the curfew.
The travel certificate can be downloaded here.
More than 1.1 million deaths from the new coronavirus have been officially recorded worldwide.
> Find the main developments of Sunday October 18
Italy mobilizes an additional 39 billion euros
The Italian government adopted in the Council of Ministers a draft amendment to the finance law amounting to 39 billion euros in response to the impact of the crisis.
This finance law will be financed by the additional deficit and by 18 billion euros of the European recovery plan adopted in July in Brussels.
The Minister of the Economy Roberto Gualtieri estimated that there had never been such an expansionary finance law in the history of the country, recalling that investments will go from 2.3% of GDP in 2019 to 4 % in 2021. Among the main measures adopted include 1.4 billion euros for the extension of fixed-term contracts of 30,000 doctors and nurses, 400 million for the purchase of vaccines, and 1.2 billion to hire 25,000 teachers.
The suspension of the payment of certain taxes and duties has also been decided.
Beginning of progressive deconfinement in Israel
Israel has just started the first stage of its gradual deconfinement, a month after the restrictions came into force.
Thanks to a drop in the number of contaminations, nurseries, kindergartens, national parks and beaches will be able to reopen, just like businesses that do not welcome the public.
In addition, Israelis are now allowed to travel more than a kilometer from their homes.
Gatherings are however limited to less than 10 people indoors and 20 outdoors.
However, the lockdown, put in place on September 18, remains in effect in several ultra-Orthodox Jewish localities in the country where the infection rate remains high.
At the end of September, the number of daily contaminations was between 8,000 and 9,000 cases but has fallen below the 2,000 mark since Wednesday.
A $ 300 billion support plan for the United States
The US Senate will vote on Wednesday on a $ 300 billion economic support plan proposed by Republicans to offset the impact of the coronavirus health crisis.
This plan is a far cry from the $ 2 trillion claimed by the Democrats.
This text was already rejected in September by the Democrats, the majority in the House of Representatives and should be so again.
To find common ground, a new telephone interview was scheduled for Saturday evening between the Democratic President of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and the US Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin.
In the meantime, time is running out to find a bipartisan agreement on a new plan to help the economy ahead of the presidential election next month.
There are certain needs that Washington must respond immediately, such as aid to the airline sector which is seeking to obtain the renewal of aid worth 25 billion dollars.
Relaxation of measures in Melbourne, Australia
After a drop in cases, Australian authorities have announced a slight easing of restriction measures in place in Melbourne, the country's second largest city.
Melbourne's five million people have been under drastic restrictions for more than 100 days.
The authorities have now lifted the measure which limited the time people could spend away from their homes to two hours to engage in authorized activities.
They have also extended the distance they can travel to 25 kilometers to exercise, buy basic necessities and work in professions deemed essential to society.
On the other hand, it will be necessary to wait until November 1, to know if the restrictions in the restaurants will be lifted.
Jean Castex advocates "pedagogy" and "controls" to enforce curfews
Prime Minister Jean Castex intends to deploy "pedagogy" and controls to enforce the curfews introduced since Saturday evening for 20 million inhabitants.
"There can be concerns, misunderstandings, weariness" and "faced with this, there are only two solutions", declared the head of government in the JDD.
“Pedagogy, first of all.
And, secondly, that the State ensures that its decisions are respected.
I asked the Minister of the Interior to take steps in this direction, ”he adds.
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Curfew controls in Paris: "Everyone has their certificate, it's encouraging"
However, he says he is “confident in the responsibility of the vast majority of my fellow citizens. Everyone must understand that we will only get by through everyone's effort, on a daily basis, in our professional and personal lives, ”he insists. For the time being, an advancement of the curfew time, to 8 p.m. or even to 5 p.m. is "not relevant" but he warns, "depending on the evolution of the epidemic, the government reserves the right to take any measure that the situation requires. "
