End of the free anti-Covid tests in France, New Caledonia confined this weekend, the United States will reopen its borders for the vaccinated on November 8 ...
Le Figaro
takes stock this Friday, October 15 on the latest information related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
To discover
Covid-19: what we know about the Delta variant
Covid-19: the third vaccine dose, instructions for use
Read also Covid-19: towards a more serene end of the year
1051 patients in intensive care in French hospitals
The epidemic continues to decline in France, where 6,470 patients are still hospitalized this Friday, including 215 since the day before.
They were 6,523 on Thursday.
1051 people are treated in critical care services - 43 were received there in the last 24 hours - against 1075 the day before.
34 people also died from Covid in French hospitals on Friday, according to Public Health France, bringing the toll to 90,352 deaths in hospital since the start of the pandemic.
Read the dossierCovid-19: the coronavirus pandemic in figures and infographics
Anti-Covid tests are now paying for the unvaccinated in France
Covid-19 screening tests became chargeable on Friday for unvaccinated French people.
Emmanuel Macron had announced it during his speech on July 12, before the information was confirmed by Jean Castex on September 26, in an interview with
Les Échos
.
For the 6.7 million insured, partially or not vaccinated, the screening examination is no longer covered by Health Insurance.
Unless you benefit from an exception - medical prescription, contact case, recent positive test, contraindication to the vaccine.
Read also Paid Covid-19 tests from Friday: all the answers to your questions
The end of free tests on October 15 is part of the government's strategy to encourage people who have not yet been vaccinated (25% of the population) to do so.
There is also a budgetary reason as the cost of tests will soar to 6.2 billion euros this year, after 2.2 billion in 2020.
"SEE ALSO -
" I will pay ": French people still hostile to vaccination against Covid-19
End of the state of emergency: Reunion falls the mask on the public highway
The obligation to wear a mask systematically on public roads will be lifted in Reunion Island from Monday, the prefect announced on Friday. However, the mask remains mandatory
"during public events generating a density of people that does not allow physical distancing
,
"
said Prefect Jacques Billant in a press release. Markets, the workplace, shops, transport and even sporting and cultural events remain concerned by the systematic wearing of the mask.
In addition, clubs and discotheques will be able to welcome the public
"within the limit of a gauge at 75% of the maximum capacity".
After 18 months of closure, these establishments reopened their doors on October 4 with a gauge of 50%.
It is the
"favorable context"
of the health situation that authorizes this relaxation of restrictions, explains the prefect.
He recalls in his press release that this improvement made it possible to
“
put
an early end to the state of health emergency in Reunion Island from October 15, 2021”.
Read alsoReunion: a doctor indicted for the establishment of false health passes
New Caledonia confined again this weekend
Strict containment of the population will be restored during this weekend in New Caledonia and will remain in place until October 31. The archipelago has been facing for six weeks a violent first wave of coronavirus, which killed 231 people in six weeks, including 5 in the last 24 hours, and infected nearly 10,000 people. After five weeks of strict confinement, adaptation measures have been in place since Monday: openings of non-essential shops, restaurants with health passes, colleges and high schools.
But they have engendered
"too much relaxation"
, according to the president of the local government.
"We have been able to observe some improvements (...), but this is not enough,
" said Louis Mapou, citing a slowly declining incidence rate, currently at 300 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Also, from Saturday 2 p.m. and until Monday 5 a.m., travel will again be subject to certification, only food shops and pharmacies will be open while the sale of alcohol was banned from Friday.
»SEE ALSO -
Covid-19: vaccination takes off in New Caledonia, almost a year after the delivery of the first doses
The epidemic continued to decline around the world this week
With 403,300 contaminations recorded daily in the world this week, the indicator is down (-5% compared to the previous week), according to an AFP report stopped on Thursday.
The pandemic, which was gaining ground at the beginning of the summer fueled by a very contagious Delta variant, has been declining since the end of August.
This week, most regions of the world have seen their situation improve: -23% of cases recorded in Africa, -21% in the Latin America / Caribbean zone, -19% in the Middle East, -16% in Asia , and -14% in the United States / Canada zone.
Europe (+ 13%) and Oceania (+ 11%) are the only two areas where the situation continues to deteriorate this week.
Read also Covid-19: the health crisis will leave lasting scars on the health of the French
Vaccine: French health authorities recommend using Pfizer's vaccine for booster shots
For the third dose of the Covid vaccine, the French health authorities recommend using exclusively the Pfizer / BioNtech vaccine and waiting for an opinion from the European Medicines Agency before possibly using the Moderna vaccine.
In its last opinion of October 6, the High Authority for Health (HAS) recommended for this recall the use of the Pfizer vaccine, without ruling out the use of Moderna, which has not yet obtained marketing authorization. (AMM) for the recall.
Read also Covid vaccines: what is the third dose for?
"The announcements from various health authorities have highlighted the unknowns that remain on the dose and the target population for the recall by Spikevax (Moderna) and justify waiting for the European body to provide the details expected within the framework of the" Marketing Authorization under review, ”
writes HAS now in a press release on Friday.
At the beginning of October, the Scandinavian countries suspended vaccination via Moderna for the youngest or even, in Iceland, for all adults.
They announced that they would bring to the attention of the European Medicines Agency studies on a possible increased risk of myocarditis and pericarditis associated with the use of this vaccine.
»SEE ALSO -
Do vaccines promote the appearance of new variants?
The United States will reopen its borders for the vaccinated on November 8
After more than eighteen months of border closures, the United States will reopen them in just over three weeks to millions of travelers who could no longer cross them because of the pandemic, but on condition that they are vaccinated.
"The new US travel policy, which requires vaccination for foreign travelers to the United States, will come into effect on November 8,"
the Biden administration said.
This new system will apply to travelers arriving by air as well as to those crossing the land borders with Canada and Mexico.
Read alsoThe United States will finally reopen the borders to vaccinated travelers on November 8
Sydney will soon reopen to foreign visitors
Sydney will lift the mandatory quarantine for international travelers from next month, officials said on Friday, signaling an earlier than expected end to severe coronavirus restrictions.
Australia's borders had been closed for 19 months to prevent the spread of Covid-19, even blocking tens of thousands of Australians abroad.
Read also Sydney's upcoming reopening to foreign visitors
Vaccine for 5-11 year olds: Pfizer / BioNTech send data to EMA
The Pfizer and BioNTech laboratories announced on Friday that they had sent the European regulator the results of clinical trials of their vaccine against Covid-19 in children aged 5 to 11 for authorization. The two companies have submitted to the European Medicines Agency (EMA)
"data in favor of vaccination"
of this age group for which no serum has so far been authorized. The German-American alliance has already requested approval in the United States after announcing at the end of September that the vaccine was well tolerated in these children and triggered a
"robust"
immune response
,
"comparable"
to that observed in 16 to 25 year olds. .
"SEE ALSO -
Covid-19: the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine 100% effective in 12-15 year olds, the laboratories announce
Denmark to offer booster dose to all vaccinated
In Denmark, where the restrictions to fight the pandemic were lifted in early September, the health authorities will offer everyone a third dose of anti-Covid vaccine, the Minister of Health said on Friday.
“We have a plan for the deployment of the third vaccine injection.
The Danes will be invited six months and 14 days after receiving the second dose, ”
Health Minister Magnus Heunicke told public television DR.
Read alsoCovid-19: how Denmark managed to reconnect with "the life before"
More than 4.87 million dead
The pandemic has killed at least 4,870,405 people around the world since the end of December 2019, according to an assessment established by AFP from official sources, Thursday at midday.
The United States is the most bereaved country with 721,111 dead, followed by Brazil (602,099), India (451,435), Mexico (283,193) and Russia (220,315).
The WHO estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the results of the pandemic could be two to three times higher.
