India, Iran, China, United States ...: those countries where Covid-19 is rampant or still threatens

As Europe begins to reopen its borders on Monday, the pandemic is still raging in many countries, especially in Latin America. In addition, other states that sometimes thought they had successfully stemmed the spread of the Covid-19 virus are now facing the threat of a second wave. China, Iran, Pakistan and India, who seemed to be about to turn the page on the epidemic, which started more than six months ago, are facing a resurgence in the number of cases and deaths , and for India, a lack of hospital facilities which worries the population.

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In the United States, the increase in the number of hospitalizations in several states, including Texas and North Carolina, also fears a second wave. The same concern is emerging in South Africa and even in Russia. Le Figaro takes stock, country by country.

Iran: 100 dead in 24 hours

The most affected country in the Middle East, Iran announced Sunday more than 100 dead in 24 hours in the country, which had not happened in two months. In early May, the authorities began a gradual deconfinement, by opening places of worship, shops or restaurants, but Iran was quickly forced to reconfigure part of the country in the face of the resumption of the epidemic due, in particular, non-compliance with social distancing.

Health authorities have thus identified 107 new deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 between Saturday noon and this Sunday at midday, announced Sima Sadat Lari, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, which brings the official assessment of the epidemic to 8837 dead in Iran.

The official daily death toll from the virus in Iran had dropped below 100 since April 14, after authorities announced 111 deaths the day before. According to Sima Sadat Lari, 2,472 new cases of virus infection have been confirmed in Iran in the past 24 hours. According to official figures, 187,427 people have been infected with the disease since the first cases were announced in February. Since the beginning of May, official figures show an upward trend in the new cases identified. So far, the authorities say that this increase is the result of increased screening and therefore the number of tests performed, and that this does not reflect any deterioration in the health situation of the country.

India: 1000 new cases per day

India had become an example by managing so far to contain the first cases detected in January. A month and a half ago, the country recorded 1,000 deaths for 1.3 billion people. But the virulence of the epidemic ended up reaching the country which today is experiencing a sharp increase in cases of contamination.

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India has registered more than 300,000 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, which has left nearly 9,000 people dead. New Delhi, the megalopolis of 20 million inhabitants, counts to date some 1200 dead from this epidemic. More than a thousand new cases are registered daily in the city. This Monday, the Indian state of Tamil Nadu (south) ordered the reconfiguration of the agglomeration of Chennai, of a population of more than 15 million inhabitants, from Friday until the end of June in the face of the progression of l coronavirus epidemic.

This increase in cases reflects the precariousness of the Indian health system and this shortage of beds is causing growing concern among the population. The rhythm of deaths is such that, in morgues, the bodies pile up while the staff of cemeteries and crematoriums cannot keep up with the rhythm. The Indian media report numerous people, often from slums, who died after being refused by hospitals. Sunday, June 14, Interior Minister Amit Shah convened a crisis meeting in Delhi, where the health situation is extremely confused: the estimate of the number of deaths ranges from double to double depending on the sources.

Pakistan: WHO urgently requests containment in the face of rising cases

In Pakistan, the World Health Organization has called on the government to urgently introduce "intermittent" containment in the most affected areas, in two-week sequences.

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So far, Prime Minister Imran Khan, worried about the unprecedented economic crisis that is looming, but also influenced by the pressure of Islamist movements, has refused to paralyze the country, especially during the period of Ramadan. Aware of the shortcomings of the hospital system, he nevertheless called on his 220 million fellow citizens to respect “smart confinement” in the coming weeks - closing of shops and markets in the districts most exposed to the virus, especially in the province of Punjab.

There are already almost 145,000 cases in Pakistan and just over 2,700 deaths. On Sunday, the Minister of Planning, Asad Umar, shocked public opinion by declaring that "on the basis of its current trajectory", the number of infected people could "double by the end of June" or even reach " 1 to 1.2 million at the end of July ”.

Bangladesh

While the containment ended on May 30 in Bangladesh, the country passed on Saturday in front of China in number of contaminations, with 87,520 cases identified and 1,171 deaths, for 160 million inhabitants. The day before, Minister of Health Zahid Maleque had announced the reconfiguration of the most infected areas, including some 45 districts of the capital Dhaka. On June 11, the government voted to increase its budget appropriations by 23%.

China: new outbreak and return to containment

Cradle of the pandemic, China thought it had defeated the virus. On May 22, the Chinese authorities announced, triumphant, that they had not identified any new case of Covid-19 in the territory, which had not happened since the country began to publish data on the epidemic, in January.

But this weekend, a new outbreak of contamination was detected in southern Beijing at the Xinfadi wholesale market, which sells meat, fish and vegetables, among other things. A discovery that led to the confinement of 21 residential areas in the vicinity. According to Chinese authorities, 57 new confirmed cases of coronavirus contamination were identified in 24 hours, including 36 in Beijing, the highest daily figure since April.

Read also: Covid-19: China fears a return of the epidemic in the northeast of the country

Latin America, the new epicenter of the pandemic

Latin America, the new epicenter, Brazil on the front line
More than 1.5 million Covid-19 patients have been identified in Latin America, now under the threat of a food crisis, while the markets fell again this Friday, investors feared a second epidemic wave in the United States. As the new epicenter of the pandemic, Latin America and the Caribbean deplore more than 73,000 deaths, more than half of them in Brazil.

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Mexico and Chile posted their worst daily figures on Friday. Mexico has totaled more than 15,000 deaths since the start of the epidemic and Chile 2,870. And in Honduras, Professor Marco Tulio Medina, of the National University, stressed that the country's hospital system was "on the brink of collapse. "

More than 2 million infected in the United States, threat of a second wave

The United States has registered an additional 941 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the number of deaths in the country to 113,774, according to a count on Thursday from Johns Hopkins University. The increase in the number of hospitalizations in several states, including Texas and North Carolina, raises fears of a second wave which would do even more damage and would slow the slow economic recovery.

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Sharp rise in cases in South Africa

Same fear in South Africa where the number of new cases jumped by more than 10,000 in one day, reaching nearly 62,000 cases Friday, a week after the loosening of containment.

8700 new cases in Russia

For its part, Russia reported on Saturday of 8,706 new contaminations with the new coronavirus, bringing the total to 520,129 cases since the start of the epidemic. According to the Russian authorities, 114 people died from the Covid-19 after 24 hours for a total of 6829 deaths.