Many countries are preparing to start their vaccination campaign against Covid-19 in the coming weeks, a global campaign which the G20 tried to ensure global equity on Sunday.
France, where the virus was detected in a mink farm, is preparing to relax their restrictions, while in Canada, a city is confining itself for the first time.
France: deconfinement in three stages
Two days before the presidential address, the government spokesperson confirmed in an interview with the press that the “easing” of the confinement in force since October 30 will be done in “three stages” first around December 1 , then before the end of year holidays, then from January 2021.
Contaminated mink in France
Like other European countries, France has just detected the presence of Covid-19 in one of its four mink farms, in Eure-et-Loir where a thousand fur animals have been slaughtered.
The mink can contract the disease but also re-infect humans.
It is the only species known to date to be the source of inter-species contaminations, in this case to humans and cats.
G20: promises, without concrete details
G20 leaders promised on Sunday to "stop at any effort" to guarantee equitable access to vaccines against Covid-19, according to the final declaration of a virtual summit with a resolutely consensual tone but poor in concrete details.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was "worried" about the slow pace of discussions to provide the vaccine against Covid-19 to the poorest nations.
The United States hopes to vaccinate soon
The United States hopes to begin its vaccination campaign against Covid-19 before mid-December, as soon as it obtains approval from health authorities, a senior official in the government operation for vaccines said on Sunday.
Once this mass vaccination campaign is launched, the country can expect to achieve "herd immunity" in May, he added.
Italy:
"
unprecedented vaccination campaign
"
Italy, where the pandemic has killed more than 48,000 people, will begin an “unprecedented vaccination campaign” at the end of January, starting with the categories of the population most at risk, Italian Minister of Health Roberto Speranza announced on Saturday.
England: end of confinement in sight
The British government has announced that the four-week lockdown in England will not be extended beyond December 2, when this British province will return to a system of local restrictions.
In the United Kingdom, the most bereaved country in Europe, each British province decides on its own strategy in the face of the health crisis.
Portugal tightens restrictions
The Portuguese government has decided to tighten restrictions to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, in particular by closing schools on Monday November 30 and December 7, on the eve of public holidays.
Canada: Toronto is confined from Monday
Canada's largest city, Toronto, is subject from Monday to "containment" in the face of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic for at least 28 days from Monday.
All private indoor gatherings will be prohibited under penalty of a fine, non-essential restaurants and shops closed.
But the schools will remain open.
"The situation is extremely serious", justified the Premier of the province of Ontario, Doug Ford.
“We cannot risk seeing our hospitals overwhelmed,” he added, when the most populous province in Canada has just passed the milestone of 100,000 contaminations.
Nearly 1.4 million dead
The novel coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 1.38 million lives worldwide since the WHO office in China reported the onset of the disease in late December.
The United States is the most bereaved country with 256,725 deaths, followed by Brazil (169,183 dead) and India (133,227 dead).
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