Covid19: update on the pandemic in the world

- China rejects US investigation into the origins of the Covid

Beijing rose up on Sunday against an investigation by US intelligence services published Friday into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, calling it "political and false", while urging Washington to "stop attacking" China.

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"No matter how many times this report is published and how many versions concocted, it cannot change the entirely political and false nature of this report," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

- The G20 is committed to strengthening the supply of vaccines to developing countries

"To help achieve the global goals of vaccinating at least 40% of the population in all countries by the end of 2021 and 70% by mid-2022", as recommended by the WHO, the G20 countries have joined forces pledged Sunday to take "measures to help strengthen the supply of vaccines and basic medical products in developing countries."

To this end, the G20 promises to "avoid export restrictions and increase transparency and visibility in vaccine delivery," according to the statement released after a two-day G20 meeting in Rome.

- Spain pledges to give 20 million additional doses

Spain pledged on Sunday to donate 20 million additional doses of Covid-19 vaccine to poor countries, bringing the total number of doses it has pledged to distribute to 50 million.

"The best thing we can do is ensure universal and equitable access to vaccines against Covid-19," Spanish Prime Minister Socialist Pedro Sanchez said at a press conference in Rome after the G20 summit.

- Nearly 5 million dead

The pandemic has killed at least 4,992,831 people worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Sunday at midday.

The United States is the most bereaved country with 745,670 dead,

followed by Brazil (607,694), India (458,186), Mexico (288,276) and Russia (238,538).

These figures are based on the daily official balance sheets for each country, excluding upward revisions made a posteriori by some statistical agencies.

By taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, the WHO estimates that the global toll of the pandemic could be two to three times higher.