In Austria, compulsory vaccination from Saturday
The compulsory vaccination law comes into force on Saturday in Austria, an unprecedented measure within the European Union, after its promulgation and publication in the Official Journal.
All residents over the age of 18 in this country of 8.9 million inhabitants are affected, with the exception of pregnant women, those who contracted the virus less than 180 days ago and finally those who can be exempted for medical reasons.
The checks will not begin until mid-March: sanctions may then be applied, for an amount varying from 600 to 3600 euros, but they will be lifted if the offender is vaccinated within two weeks.
Read alsoAustria: promulgation of the law on compulsory vaccination
The circulation of the epidemic slows down in France
The circulation of the epidemic is slowing down in France but remains high, especially among the over 70s, warned the health authorities, urging not to relax the braking measures.
The circulation of the virus slowed down last week “
with an incidence rate down 8%”
.
"
This indicator nevertheless continued to increase among those aged 70 and over and remained at a very high level (over 3,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) in the majority of regions"
, noted the French public health agency during a point hurry.
Read alsoIs Covid-19 “twice” more lethal than the flu?
Explosion of contamination in French Polynesia
The number of active cases, that is to say people who tested positive for Covid-19 in the last seven days, has quadrupled in one week in Polynesia, according to figures released on Friday by the Health Department. local.
It listed 579 active cases on January 28, against 2,080 on February 4.
The incidence rate now stands at 753 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 317 per 100,000 the previous week.
The United States exceeds 900,000 deaths recorded from Covid-19
The United States exceeded 900,000 deaths from Covid-19 on Friday, according to the report from Johns Hopkins University, which refers.
The country had exceeded the threshold of 800,000 deaths in mid-December, only a month and a half ago.
Cases linked to the Omicron variant are now down, but the number of daily deaths continues to grow, with an average of 2,400 deaths per day currently, according to data from health authorities.
Read alsoCovid-19: Pfizer will seek authorization for its vaccine for children under 5 in the United States
Spain: towards the end of the away mask
Spaniards will be able to go out again without a mask from next week, a government decision which on Friday raised hopes of an end to the pandemic, when other restrictions are lifted at the regional level.
Health Minister Carolina Darias announced that the government would approve a decree on Tuesday ending the obligation to wear a mask outdoors.
His ministry specified that the measure would take effect on Thursday 10.
Read alsoCovid-19: Spain wants to switch to reduced surveillance, as for the flu
In Greece, the test is no longer compulsory for European vaccinated
Greece no longer requires coronavirus screening tests for holders of a European vaccination certificate wishing to enter its territory from Monday, the Ministry of Health announced.
“
From Monday February 7, entry into the territory of all those with a valid European (vaccination) certificate will be without compulsory testing
,” Health Minister Thanos Plevris said on television.
Read alsoWhere can we travel?
Our map of open countries and restrictions for French tourists
A first messenger RNA vaccine produced in Africa
A South African biotech company has announced that it has manufactured the first messenger RNA vaccine against Covid-19 on the African continent, using Moderna sequencing, and that it will be ready for clinical trials in November.
Cape Town, South Africa-based Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines is leading the pilot project, supported by the World Health Organization and the Covax initiative.
Read alsoCovid-19: how South Africa overcame the Omicron wave
Events in Canada
Ottawa, Toronto, Quebec: Opponents of health measures in Canada, some of whom have occupied the city center of the federal capital for a week, have again planned to demonstrate on Saturday in several cities to demand the lifting of restrictions.
This protest, part of a movement of truckers in the west of the country, has turned into an occupation of Ottawa: for eight days, the streets in front of Parliament and under the offices of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have been occupied by dozens trucks and demonstrators.
Read also“Freedom Convoy”: Ottawa truckers, these yellow vests that Canada did not see coming
Job creation in the United States
The US economy defied all forecasts in January, creating far more jobs than expected despite the disruptions linked to the Omicron variant, which even raised fears of destruction.
In January, 467,000 jobs were created, the Labor Department said.
Read alsoIn the United States, inflation is driving up rents
More than 5.7 million dead
The pandemic has officially killed more than 5,710 people worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP on Friday midday.
In absolute value, the United States is the country with the most deaths (900,978), ahead of Brazil (630,494), India (500,055) and Russia (334,039).
The WHO estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the toll of the pandemic could be two to three times higher than that officially established.
