Restrictive measures are multiplying in Europe in the face of the resurgence of the coronavirus: partial confinement enters into force Thursday in the Czech Republic and a curfew is established in two Italian regions while Ireland was reconfigured Wednesday evening.
In France, new ICU admissions due to Covid-19 have further accelerated.
The government will place new departments on high alert.
And hope for an effective vaccine was clouded by the death of a volunteer in Brazil.
More than 1.12 million deaths worldwide
The pandemic has killed at least 1,126,465 people worldwide since the WHO office in China reported the onset of the disease at the end of December, according to the latest report established by AFP.
More than 40,856,210 cases of contamination have been diagnosed.
The United States is the most bereaved country with 221,930 dead, followed by Brazil (155,403 dead), India (115,914), Mexico (86,993) and the United Kingdom (43,967).
In France, intensive care admissions are accelerating
New admissions to intensive care in France accelerated further Wednesday, with 284 admissions in 24 hours, according to Public Health France.
The trend is worrying in hospitals, with 2,239 people in total in intensive care or intensive care, therefore in serious condition.
Île-de-France alone accounts for 30% of these cases (672 patients), and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 16% (360 patients).
The country now deplores more than 34,000 deaths from the disease, 34,048 exactly, 166 more than the day before.
New departments on high alert
Jean Castex will announce Thursday that a
"number of departments will switch to maximum alert"
in the face of the progression of the Covid-19 epidemic, said government spokesman Gabriel Attal.
Sign of the concern of the executive, it is the Prime Minister, and not the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, who will hold this press point Thursday at 5 p.m., even if Olivier Véran as well as the Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot, and Secretary of State Cédric O will also be present.
Ten thousand cases in less than 24 hours in Germany
The situation is also worsening in Germany, where, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the number of new Covid-19 infections has exceeded 10,000 cases in less than 24 hours, according to official data released on Thursday.
Germany has thus recorded 11,287 cases, a figure in net increase of nearly 3,700 compared to the day before, which largely exceeds the previous record of last Friday set at 7,830 new infections recorded by the Robert Koch health watch institute.
The Irish reconfined
The Irish have been under house arrest for six weeks since midnight Wednesday, a first in the EU since spring, but schools will remain open.
Non-essential businesses will close and the Irish will only be able to leave their homes to exercise within a three-mile radius, or face fines.
In Spain, a million cases ...
Spain has become the first member country of the European Union - and the 6th in the world - to cross the milestone of one million cases of the new coronavirus (1,005,295).
According to the daily report of the Ministry of Health, the country has recorded 16,973 new cases and 156 deaths over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 34,366 deaths.
... and partial closure of Zaragoza and La Rioja
The list of Spanish towns and regions which are partially cordoned off has grown with the addition of the large city of Zaragoza and the wine region of La Rioja.
These sanitary cords prohibit entering or leaving the area concerned except for essential reasons, such as the closure already in force in Madrid and eight neighboring municipalities since early October.
Partial confinement for Czechs
The Czech government has announced restrictions on the movement of people as well as the closure of shops and services to intensify the battle against Covid-19.
All outlets, except food stores and pharmacies, will be closed from Thursday until November 3.
Death of a volunteer testing a vaccine
A volunteer who participated in the tests of the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford against Covid-19 died in Brazil, official sources announced on Wednesday, without specifying whether he had received the vaccine or a placebo.
Oxford assured that phase 3 of the tests would continue, an independent committee having concluded that they did not pose a risk to the health of the volunteers.
