The essential
D-Day for the reopening of the terraces of bars and restaurants, cultural places and non-essential shops, but also widening of the curfew which passes to 9 p.m.: an update on everything that changes this Wednesday.
187 deaths in 24 hours, a little more than 4,000 patients in critical care in France.
In line with the past two weeks, the epidemic figures confirm the health improvement.
Pfizer vaccine can now be stored in the refrigerator for one month.
A decision that could lighten logistics and speed up the vaccine campaign against Covid-19.
Difficult start of self-tests for Covid in high schools.
Their ease of use should make them the government's key device in the fight against Covid-19 in schools ... despite a delay in ignition.
The bet of the progressive deconfinement of the government.
The Head of State and his ministers will be on the ground this Wednesday to take advantage of this day, but with a message of caution and vigilance to avoid a resumption of the epidemic.
Today's events
8:46 am. The end of the mask outdoors this summer?
"We hope so," government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday morning on BFMTV. And to continue with caution: "If things continue to improve, probably in the summer, as soon as we consider reasonable and responsible, we will do it." "For his part, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, at the microphone of France Inter, estimated:" The answer is no, with the Minister of Health, we considered yesterday that it was still too early to alleviate the wearing the mask, we asked the prefects to withdraw their orders, that moment will come, it has not yet come. "
8:30 am.
Macron and Castex on the terrace.
The President and his Prime Minister sat down on a terrace of a Parisian café this Wednesday morning.
“We have to be careful.
Let's get used to trying to live together in the present time ”, commented the Head of State at the microphone of BFMTV.
He spoke of a "little moment of rediscovered freedom which is the fruit of our collective efforts".
Here we are !
Terraces, museums, cinemas, theaters ... Let's find what makes our way of life.
In respect of barrier gestures.
pic.twitter.com/UXfOKur9D0
- Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 19, 2021
"We're going to take two back!"
»Emmanuel Macron and Jean Castex on the terrace @BFMTV pic.twitter.com/Je1UUySJqr
- Agathe Lambret (@AgatheLambret) May 19, 2021
8:15 am. A “blue white red” tourist summer for Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne.
For the Secretary of State for Tourism, interviewed on Sud radio, the first phase of deconfinement "it's just happiness", "it's freedom regained". For the Secretary of State, it must be "
the spring of restaurants, the spring of gastronomy
". In addition, these reopenings mark the start of the season. He asks that "this season be again a blue-white-red summer" or "the fact that the French rediscover all the riches of our territory". "There is also this need to be in support of this tourist economy", he confides.
[#SudRadio] @JBLemoyne "Since May 3, the French have been keen to get some fresh air. This is the start of the 2021 season, I call for this summer to be a blue white red summer" # tourism
- Sud Radio (@SudRadio) May 19, 2021
8:10 am.
Taiwan will receive 400,000 additional doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.
As the country faces dwindling vaccine stocks and an outbreak of infections, these additional doses will be provided as part of the COVAX global vaccine sharing program.
To date, the stock of vaccines available to the country is rapidly running out.
Taiwan has only received about 300,000 doses and at least two-thirds of these vaccines have been administered.
These additional doses will arrive today from Amsterdam.
8:05 am.
At least 75% of residents of the Olympic Village during the Tokyo Olympics will be vaccinated, according to the IOC boss
.
8 hours.
"A real moment of renewal, of reunion", according to the Minister in charge of SMEs Alain Griset.
Asked on the terrace of a cafe on BFM TV, Alain Griset welcomed this reopening.
In the meantime, the Minister in charge of SMEs has confirmed the maintenance of aid for restaurateurs until August before taking stock of the situation on that date.
7:50 a.m. Quebec will soon be deconfining itself.
The Premier of Quebec, one of the Canadian provinces most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, announced the upcoming lifting of containment measures thanks in particular to the success of the vaccination campaign. The flagship measure of these announcements, the lifting from May 28 of the curfew established across the province since early January. At the end of May, restaurant terraces will also be able to open throughout the province, travel between regions will once again be authorized, and outdoor stadiums and performance halls will be able to accommodate up to 2,500 people in sealed groups of 250. Mid-June , it will be the turn of the bar terraces to reopen and two weeks later, the outdoor festivals.
7.40 am. The Senate adopted the bill to manage the way out of the health crisis.
The Senate dominated by the right-wing opposition adopted, on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the bill for the gradual exit from the state of emergency, after having substantially modified it. The article voted by the senators provides for extending the state of health emergency until June 30, to take into account the maintenance of a curfew. In addition, an "intermediate" regime would be instituted from July 1 to September 15, allowing the government to take restrictive measures in the face of the pandemic, to the exclusion of measures "strongly detrimental to freedoms" such as the closure of establishments. The deputies and the senators will have to try, Thursday, to agree on a common text. Read our article.
7:35. Vaccines for athletes from the Americas for the Tokyo Olympics.
Athletes from over 40 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean who have not had the opportunity to be vaccinated will be able to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Pan-American Sports Organization, which brings together 41 national Olympic committees from the American continent, has decided to offer 4,000 doses of this vaccine to those participating in the Tokyo-2021 Olympic Games.
7:30 am. Vaccination compulsory to enter certain places in Saudi Arabia.
Vaccination will be compulsory in Saudi Arabia from August 1 to enter any public or private place as well as to use public transport. This announcement, intended to strengthen vaccination in the kingdom, comes after the decision to allow only vaccinated employees in the public or private sector to return to their workplace.
7:20 a.m. Algeria's land borders remain closed.
Algeria's land borders will remain closed while air links will resume from June 1, according to the Algerian High Security Council. This reopening will begin as a first step with "a plan of five daily flights to and from the airports of Algiers, Constantine and Oran", the largest cities in the country.
7:15 am. In Ardèche, the prefecture defers the relaxation of the wearing of the mask.
The Ardèche prefecture has postponed the relaxation of the wearing of masks in public spaces that it had announced earlier in the day, for the sake of harmonization between the departments. "So that the rules for wearing a mask are harmonized between all the departments, the publication of the prefectural decree relaxing the wearing of a mask in Ardèche is postponed for a few days," said the prefecture in a tweet. "The wearing of the mask is therefore maintained everywhere in the public space", she added. Read our article.
🔴 In order for the rules for wearing a mask to be harmonized between all the departments, the publication of the prefectural decree relaxing the wearing of a mask in Ardèche is postponed for a few days.
😷 The wearing of a mask is therefore maintained everywhere in the public space.
- Prefect of Ardèche (@ Prefet07) May 18, 2021
7:10.
Record of deaths and contaminations in Argentina.
Argentina has recorded its highest number of new cases of Covid-19 contamination with 35,543 cases and 745 deaths in 24 hours since the start of the coronavirus epidemic, authorities said.
In total, Argentina has recorded 3,371,508 cases and 71,771 deaths, for a population of some 45 million.
7 hours. A decree to specify the modalities of deconfinement.
The government has detailed the conditions linked to the first phase of deconfinement in France, by relaxing the sanitary measures to allow a reopening of places of culture and terraces, in a decree published in the Official Journal. Read our article
6:45 a.m. The discotheques plead their cause to the Council of State.
Considering themselves victims of "discrimination", operators plead their case before the Council of State. During a hearing, at 10 am will be examined the summary liberty of the main union of the Union of trades and industries of the hotel (Umih), asking that the discotheques be integrated "urgently" in the deconfinement plan made public by the government on April 30 and can reopen on June 30. The decision is expected in a few days. Out of 1,600 nightclubs in France, 152 had closed permanently at the end of March 2021, according to the federation.
6:25 am. Place the first phase of deconfinement.
Opening of the terraces of bars and restaurants, cinemas, theaters but also shops. Find out in detail what will change on May 19, June 9 and June 30 next.
6:15 a.m. China is raping in favor of vaccines.
Faced with populations that are still sometimes reluctant, after free eggs and discount coupons, the Chinese authorities have published a hip-hop video to promote anti-Covid vaccination. The video, with the heady refrain of "get vaccinated quickly", was posted on social networks by the Ministry of Health of Sichuan province (southwest). By mid-May, around 30% of the Chinese population had received a first injection of a two-dose vaccine, but the authorities are trying to speed up their campaign with the goal of vaccinating 40% of the population by June ( i.e. 560 million people).
6:10 am New record for contaminations and deaths in India.
India, with a population of 1.3 billion, has counted 4,529 deaths in 24 hours, a new record, and 267,334 cases in 24 hours.
The total death toll since the start of the epidemic is more than 25 million cases and 283,248 deaths.
6:05 am.
The end of masks in New York.
After being at the epicenter of the pandemic in the spring of 2020 and observed extreme caution in the face of the coronavirus for months, New York marks the lifting of many restrictions imposed, especially in restaurants.
To these relaxations was added the authorization for vaccinated people to no longer wear the mask, even indoors.
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It will allow you to follow the latest developments in the Covid-19 crisis, throughout the day.