Protests continue 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, gathered on Saturday 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.
Up to 2,000 people could join the truckers already on the streets of Ottawa, according to the police, who were also expecting a thousand counter-protesters.
The organizers, for their part, assured AFP that they were expecting tens of thousands of people.
Read also“Freedom Convoy”: Ottawa truckers, these yellow vests that Canada did not see coming
WHO chief, Chinese premier discuss Covid-19
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Saturday that he had met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to discuss Covid-19 and in particular the still blocked investigation into the origins of the pandemic. .
“
I am happy to have met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
We discussed Covid-19 and the need for an aggressive effort in vaccine equity this year to vaccinate 70% of the world's population
, tweeted Dr Tedros, visiting Beijing for the Olympics. winter of 2022.
This is the WHO chief's first visit to China since January 2020, weeks after the first coronavirus patients were identified in the city of Wuhan.
Read alsoThe WHO considers it “premature” to declare victory against the Covid
In Austria, vaccination is mandatory
Austrians over the age of 18 must, since Saturday, be vaccinated against Covid-19, under penalty of incurring a heavy fine, an unprecedented measure in the European Union.
The government has decided to opt for the hard way despite the criticism, standing out from its European partners.
“
No other country in Europe is following us on the compulsory vaccine
”, denounces Manuel Krautgartner, who has engaged in politics against health rules in Linz (north).
Read alsoCovid-19: could we charge the non-vaccinated in the hospital?
Turkish President positive for Covid
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Saturday that he had tested positive for Covid-19, without having severe symptoms.
This “
mild infection
” is “
due to the Omicron variant
,” the 67-year-old president tweeted.
The Turkish president received his third dose of the Covid vaccine last June.
Turkey, which has a population of around 85 million, has recorded some 12 million cases of Covid-19 and nearly 90,000 coronavirus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Read alsoTurkey: soon the end for Recep Tayyip Erdogan?
Hong Kong infection record
Hong Kong recorded a record number of new daily Covid-19 cases on Saturday, despite the "
zero Covid
" policy, authorities said.
According to official figures, 351 confirmed cases were counted on Saturday, the fifth day of the Lunar New Year holidays, the highest since the start of the pandemic.
Health Minister Sophia Chan called on Hong Kongers to stay home to slow the spread of the virus while saying sewage testing revealed the virus had already been detected in most of the city.
Read alsoHong Kong: record number of daily coronavirus infections
Explosion of contamination in French Polynesia
The number of people who tested positive for Covid-19 in the past seven days has quadrupled in one week in French Polynesia, according to figures released Friday by the local Health Department.
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 sudden increase in the number of contaminations has not, for the moment, had an impact on the number of people admitted to the Hospital Center of French Polynesia, where only five people are hospitalized for Covid, including one in intensive care.
Read alsoFrom Cuba to Polynesia, the ode to the blue planet by a freediving champion and a naturalist photographer
More than 5.7 million dead
The pandemic has officially killed more than 5,723 million people worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP on Saturday at 11:00 GMT.
In absolute value, the United States is the country with the most deaths (902,182), ahead of Brazil (631,802), India (501,114) and Russia (334,743).
Read alsoThe United States exceeds the 900,000 deaths recorded from Covid-19