End of the mask wearing and epidemic "in decline" in France, 2.5 billion doses of vaccine administered worldwide, but concern in Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal and on the African continent in the face of the resurgence of the disease ... Here is an update on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic around the world.
To discover
Covid-19: vaccination as the only remedy
Read also: Weather, variants, vaccines: questions that remain unanswered regarding Covid-19
In France, epidemic "in decline" and lifting of the wearing of masks outdoors
"On the national territory, the epidemic is in decline, it is in the process of being controlled"
, welcomed Thursday the French Minister of Health Olivier Véran.
If the coronavirus continues to kill in France (45 deaths announced Wednesday), contaminations are in sharp decline (3,058 new cases).
The government therefore decided to lift the obligation to wear a mask outdoors - and the fine of 135 euros that accompanied it - in the middle of a heat wave and at the start of the Euro football tournament.
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And you, will you keep the mask even if it is no longer mandatory outdoors?
Read also: Outdoors, the mask becomes the exception
In France, the pressure continues to decrease in hospitals
The pressure continued to decrease Thursday in hospitals, which have less than 12,000 hospitalized Covid-19 patients, according to figures from Public Health France (SpF).
Thus, 11,114 patients with Covid-19 were hospitalized on Thursday, against 11,519 the day before.
The largest hospital group in France, the Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), on Thursday lifted its "white plan",
"in view of the favorable development of trends that we have known for several weeks"
, announced its direction.
Read also: Covid-19: until when should we wear the mask indoors?
81% of nursing home residents vaccinated, according to new estimates
81.1% of nursing home residents are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, but only 41.9% of professionals in these establishments, according to new data released Thursday by Public Health France (SpF).
The health agency had stopped publishing these indicators for several weeks, having found that they were overestimated.
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Macron once again calls on caregivers to get vaccinated
To read also: Claire Hédon on nursing homes: "We are worried to see that these obstacles persist"
In full military withdrawal, focus of Covid-19 at the American embassy in Kabul
The United States Embassy in Kabul has ordered strict containment of its staff after the appearance of a
"significant"
focus of Covid-19 cases, in full withdrawal of American soldiers from Afghanistan.
According to an internal memo, 114 diplomatic mission employees contracted Covid-19 and
"are placed in solitary confinement"
, while one person has died and
"several others have been medically evacuated"
.
US allocates $ 3.2 billion for antiviral research
American authorities announced Thursday their intention to invest $ 3.2 billion to accelerate research and development of antiviral drugs against Covid-19 and future pathologies.
Portugal: new health restrictions targeting the Lisbon region
Contrary to the easing of health restrictions in several European countries, the Portuguese government decided on Thursday to ban entry and exit from the Lisbon region during the weekend, to prevent the rise in Covid cases from spreading to the rest of the territory.
Portugal had recorded 1,350 new cases of coronavirus the day before in 24 hours, the highest daily figure since the end of February.
Read also: Portugal: new health restrictions targeting the Lisbon region
United Kingdom: more than 10,000 cases in 24 hours, a first since February
In Great Britain, the health authorities recorded Thursday 11,007 new cases of contamination in 24 hours, exceeding 10,000 for the first time since the end of February against the backdrop of a push of the Delta variant initially detected in India.
Europe's most bereaved country by the pandemic, the United Kingdom has experienced a sharp decline in recent times, despite a large-scale vaccination campaign.
This trend forced the British government on Monday to postpone the total lifting of health restrictions by one month.
Read also: Covid-19: does the progression of the epidemic in the United Kingdom sign the failure of vaccines?
Vaccines: 2.5 billion doses administered
The world has passed the 2.5 billion vaccine dose mark, according to a count made by AFP from official sources.
In Africa, the third wave "amplifies and accelerates" with the variants
In Africa, the third wave of the epidemic
"is amplifying and accelerating"
with the variants, warned Thursday the office of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the continent, stressing that the number of cases there are increasing
"by 22% per week"
and calling for an increase in vaccine supply.
“Nearly 12 million people are now fully vaccinated, but this represents less than 1% of the population”
of the continent, underlined the WHO.
Read also: Africa lacks doses and struggles to fight disinformation
Germany reopens its doors to vaccinated non-EU travelers
Germany will once again authorize from June 25 the entry into its territory of fully vaccinated travelers from countries outside the European Union, the government of Angela Merkel announced Thursday.
Travelers must have received, at least 14 days before entering Germany, two doses of an anti-Covid vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency.
Lifting of the state of emergency in Tokyo
The state of emergency system in the face of the coronavirus will be lifted on Sunday as planned in Tokyo as well as in other departments of Japan, soon one month before the opening of the Olympics in the capital.
However, restrictions will continue to apply in Tokyo and other departments until July 11, especially for bars and restaurants, which will have to continue to close into the early evening.
Read also: A collapse of births expected this year in Japan
"New variants" in Moscow?
Moscow suspects
"new variants"
of the coronavirus, according to its mayor, to explain the sudden worsening of the epidemic in the Russian capital, where the vaccination campaign has been sluggish for months.
"Most likely, it is that we are confronted with new variants, more aggressive and which spread more quickly"
, estimated Sergei Sobyanin.
SEE ALSO -
Covid-19: Moscow decrees compulsory vaccinations in the face of a "dramatic" situation
Read also: Covid-19: Have Russia and China vaccinated less than the European Union?
Ecuador plans to vaccinate migrants against Covid-19
Ecuador, home to some 433,000 Venezuelans, plans to vaccinate migrants from August, regardless of their immigration status, the foreign ministry said Thursday.
More than 3.8 million dead
The pandemic has killed more than 3,835,238 people around the world since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources Thursday at 10:00 GMT.
After the United States (600,941 deaths), the countries with the highest number of deaths are Brazil (496,004) and India (381,903).
These figures, which are based on daily reports from national health authorities, are generally underestimated.
The WHO estimates that the toll of the pandemic could be two to three times higher than that officially recorded.
