The calm before the storm ?
France is between "
reprieve
" and "
armed vigilance
" in the face of the epidemic.
On Monday February 15, the Ministry of Health called on hospitals to re-mobilize, in anticipation of a new epidemic wave.
To not miss any of the latest highlights related to Covid-19,
Le Figaro
takes stock of the latest news for Tuesday, February 16.
In France, vigilance under the threat of variants
France is monitoring the progression of variants of the virus which strike the region of Dunkirk (North) or the Moselle, one year after the first death recorded in the country.
For now, the executive's bet to avoid a general reconfinement of the country seems to hold.
Read also: Covid-19: the drop in historical strains hides the increase in new variants
New hospitalizations and resuscitation of Covid-19 patients have increased over the past 24 hours, according to figures released Monday evening by Public Health France.
The number of patients in intensive care, which receive the most serious cases, was 3,371 Monday evening, against 3,299 the day before.
Dunkerkque: strengthening of vaccination
An “
exceptional
” screening
campaign
will be organized in Dunkirk, and 2,400 additional doses of vaccine allocated in the face of the worsening health situation, marked by strong circulation of the British variant of Covid-19, announced Monday, February 15. 'Regional Health Agency (ARS).
The prefecture had alerted Saturday, February 13 to a situation which "
deteriorated suddenly
", with "an incidence rate of 515 cases per 100,000 inhabitants against 384" the previous week.
SEE ALSO -
Covid-19: facing the English variant, the mayor of Dunkirk denounces disconnected measures
WHO approves AstraZeneca vaccine
The World Health Organization (WHO) has urgently approved AstraZeneca / Oxford's anti-Covid vaccine.
A decision that will allow the Covax device, set up to ensure equitable access to the vaccine, to begin distribution.
This vaccine represents the vast majority of the 337.2 million doses that Covax intends to distribute in the first half of the year, mainly to poor countries.
To read also: "High-intensity influenza syndromes": increased vigilance against the side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine
To date, more than 177.6 million doses of anti-Covid vaccines have been administered worldwide, according to a count made Monday February 15 by AFP from official sources.
To date, more than nine out of ten doses have been injected in “
high
” or “
upper middle
”
income countries as
defined by the World Bank.
Among the less fortunate countries, Zimbabwe received Monday a first batch of 200,000 doses of the vaccine developed by Sinopharm, offered by China.
Jordan has inaugurated the world's first open vaccination center in a refugee camp.
England: towards a “cautious” deconfinement
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will unveil his roadmap for lifting restrictions in England next Monday, calls for “
irreversible but prudent
deconfinement”
.
"
Read also: Covid-19: against the import of variants, England inaugurates its quarantine at the hotel
Germany, which partially closed its borders with the Czech Republic and Austria for the same purpose, has hinted that it may soon do the same with France.
Kamala Harris and Emmanuel Macron talk about Covid-19
United States Vice President Kamala Harris and French President Emmanuel Macron pleaded Monday, February 15 in favor of "close bilateral and multilateral cooperation" in the face of Covid-19 and climate change, in a telephone interview.
Vaccination in Chile, Dominican Republic and Colombia
Chile began on Monday February 15 to vaccinate its teachers against Covid-19 with the aim of reopening the country's schools for the start of the school year on March 1, announced the Ministry of Health.
The Dominican Republic begins its vaccination program on Tuesday (February 16), after having reached agreements to acquire 21 million doses from AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Sinova Biotch, authorities announced Monday (February 15).
Colombia received on Monday February 15 a first batch of 50,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for its mass immunization campaign against the coronavirus which is due to start on February 20.
More than 2.4 million deaths worldwide
The new coronavirus pandemic has killed at least 2,400,543 people around the world since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Monday.
After the United States (486,314 dead), the countries with the most deaths are Brazil (239,773), Mexico (174,207), India (155,732) and the United Kingdom (117,166). overall undervalued.
