Latin America and the Caribbean became the region of the world with the highest number of coronavirus infections on Sunday July 26, while in the United States the number of new cases is declining.
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The epidemic continues to spread around the world with more than five million new cases detected since July 1, more than a third of those declared since the start of the pandemic. In some countries like Canada, it now affects a majority of young people under the age of 39.
- Latin America and the Caribbean, the most affected region
Latin America and the Caribbean became the region of the world with the highest number of contaminations on Sunday. The number of contamination since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic has risen to 4,340,214 cases, according to an assessment established by AFP on Sunday evening from official sources.
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This is the first time that the number of infections in this region has exceeded that of North America, which has 4,330,989 cases, mainly in the United States, the most affected country in the world with 4.2 million contaminations and nearly 150,000 deaths.
Brazil, the most affected Latin American country, recorded nearly 25,000 additional cases on Sunday, for a total of 2.4 million. He deplores more than 87,000 deaths.
In Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro extended severe containment measures in Caracas and six other states on Sunday to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, with restrictions in the rest of the country remaining more flexible.
In Peru, the Ministry of Health estimated that 25.3% of the population of the capital Lima and the port of Callao could be contaminated by Covid-19, or " a total of 2.7 million inhabitants ".
In Mexico City, some Catholic churches still reopened on Sunday, after four months of closure, subject to health measures such as social distance between the faithful, wearing a mask and taking temperature to prevent the spread of the coronavirus epidemic. .
- Young adults, the majority among new Canadian cases
In Canada, adults under the age of 39 now constitute a clear majority of new cases of Covid-19 identified, health authorities warned on Sunday, calling on young people not to feel " invincible ".
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Seniors are not the only people at risk of serious health problems if infected, warned Dr Theresa Tam, the country's chief public health officer: on the cases of Covid-19 reported last week , “ 63% concerned young people under 39 years of age, of which a third (31%) was hospitalized ”.
In France too, concerned elected officials called on young people to be more careful and ordered the closure of places of gatherings such as beaches, parks and public gardens at night, as in Quiberon in Morbihan.
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- Spain wants to reassure
The Spanish government assured that despite the outbreak of coronavirus cases, the situation was " under control " and the outbreaks " localized and isolated ", in a response to countries having announced restrictions with regard to Spain .
From Sunday, passengers arriving from Spain to the UK will have to undergo a fortnight in isolation while Norway has again imposed restrictions on travel to Spain. In France, Prime Minister Jean Castex " strongly recommended " to the French to " avoid " going to Catalonia.
- Fall in the number of new infections in the United States and effort to find a vaccine
The United States recorded 55,187 new cases of coronavirus contamination on Sunday in the space of 24 hours, the lowest figure for almost two weeks, according to the count from Johns Hopkins University, which refers. This is the first time since July 13 that the number of new contaminations has dropped below 60,000.
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These new cases bring to 4,229,624 the total number of cases recorded since the start of the epidemic in the country, the most affected by the virus in the world, by the university based in Baltimore. The death toll now stands at 146,909, including 518 deaths recorded in the past 24 hours.
In addition, the American government has pledged to increase its support for the development of a potential vaccine developed by the American biotechnology company Moderna to nearly $ 1 billion in total, and which is being prepared. at in the last phase of its clinical trial.
This experimental vaccine, which triggered antibodies against the coronavirus in the 45 participants in a first phase, can thus be tested from Monday on 30,000 people.
- In China, record of new patients since April
China reported 61 new Covid-19 patients on Monday in 24 hours, the largest daily increase since mid-April, after the appearance of outbreaks of infection in three provinces.
It has been several months since the country globally contained the epidemic thanks to the wearing of masks, containment measures and a contact tracing policy. No death has been recorded since mid-May.
A total of 41 new patients have, however, been identified in the Xinjiang region (northwest), where an epidemic outbreak has affected the capital Urumqi since mid-July, said the Ministry of Health.