Coronavirus: new case record in the United States, "the epidemic is accelerating", according to the WHO

The epidemic is accelerating

The pandemic has killed at least 539,620 people worldwide since the end of December, according to a report compiled by AFP from official sources on Tuesday 7 July. After the United States (131,362 dead), the most affected countries are Brazil (66,741 dead), the United Kingdom (44,391 dead), Italy (34,899 dead) and Mexico (31,119 dead). In France, 35 people died in hospital between Monday and Tuesday in the early afternoon, bringing the number of deaths to 29,933.

"The epidemic is accelerating and we have not reached the peak of the pandemic," warns the WHO. Some 400,000 new cases were identified this weekend. Some countries have made significant progress in reducing the number of deaths, "while in other countries, deaths are still increasing," said WHO.

If the situation seems to be under control in Europe, the continent hardest hit with more than 200,000 deaths, concern is growing in Australia, the United States and India, which has just crossed the 20,000 dead mark. More than three million cases of Covid-19 have also been identified in Latin America and the Caribbean since the start of the epidemic.

Read also: Covid-19: more than 3 million cases in Latin America and the Caribbean

WHO has also warned of the probable ability of the virus to be transmitted by air, which is much more contagious than initially envisaged. "The possibility of transmission by air in particularly crowded public places cannot be excluded," said Benedetta Allegranzi, a WHO official, noting that the evidence still needs to be "gathered and interpreted" .

Read also: Transmission of Covid by air: WHO recognizes that "evidence is emerging"

New case record in the United States

The United States continues to break infection records with 60,000 new cases on Tuesday alone, according to Johns Hopkins University. Over 1,100 people have died there from the Covid-19 in the past 24 hours.

Read also: Covid-19: 60,000 cases and 1,100 more deaths in 24 hours in the United States

The director of the American Institute of Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, judged that his country was still "knee deep" in the pandemic. According to him, we must act immediately to stem the current resurgence, especially in the west and the south of the country.

On the other hand, Donald Trump does not agree with this analysis and considers that he has done "good work" . He predicted that "within two, three, four weeks" the country will be "in an excellent position" . The American president also indicated that he had notified the American withdrawal from the WHO. He accused the UN agency of having delayed reacting after the virus appeared in China in December in order to spare Beijing.

Read also: The United States formally withdraws from the World Health Organization

In addition, Washington announced Tuesday that it has granted $ 1.6 billion to US biotech Novavax for its vaccine project, guaranteeing the United States priority of the first 100 million doses if necessary.

Read also: Trump government signs another big check for vaccine project

Bolsonaro contracts the virus

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, very skeptical about the coronavirus pandemic, has announced that he has contracted Covid-19. Second most affected country after the United States, Brazil has more than 66,000 dead but its president, even sick, remains defiant. "I'm perfectly fine," Jair Bolsonaro, 65 , said on television after announcing the positive result of his Covid-19 test.

Read also: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tested positive at Covid-19

He said he was following a treatment with azithromycin (an antibiotic) and hydroxychloroquine, a controversial drug, a time adopted by Donald Trump but which WHO ended up concluding that it had no beneficial effect .

A French study, published Tuesday, argues that patients treated "long term" with chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, especially for autoimmune diseases, were no less affected by severe forms of Covid- 19 during the epidemic.

Read also: "Long-term" hydroxychloroquine does not protect against severe forms of Covid-19, study finds

The enormous impact of the crisis on the economy

On the economic front, the impact of the health crisis on the euro area's GDP will be worse than expected: -8.7% in 2020, the European Commission warned on Tuesday.

Read also: Worse-than-expected recession in Europe

In London, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is about to unveil this Wednesday a vast post-coronavirus recovery plan comprising an investment of 3 billion pounds (3.3 billion euros) dedicated to "green" jobs to "revitalize employment and protect the environment". However, many voices have already been raised to criticize measures that promise to be too unambitious in light of the looming historical recession.

The African Development Bank, for its part, estimated in a report on Tuesday that nearly 50 million Africans could fall into extreme poverty due to the economic consequences of the epidemic on the continent.

Read also: Coronavirus: 50 million Africans could fall into extreme poverty

Reopening of the National Gallery

After the Louvre on Monday, the National Gallery in London reopens on Wednesday. It is the first major London museum to come out of more than three months of confinement, with masks and signposted routes for visitors requested to book in advance.

Read also: The National Gallery, the first major London museum to be unconstrained

On the other hand, in Japan, in Tatsuno, the dance of thousands of fireflies - an early summer show that normally attracts tens of thousands of visitors - takes place behind closed doors, the organizers of the fireflies festival having preferred the cancel to limit the risks.