In France, a month after the curfew was put in place, the epidemic remains stable.
But the progression of variants worries.
New cases of Covid-19 are on the decline around the world, according to the WHO.
However, “
the fire is not extinguished
”.
To not miss any of the latest highlights related to Covid-19,
Le Figaro
takes stock of the latest news for this Wednesday, February 17.
France: still no explosion of Covid-19 variants
A month after the generalization of the 6:00 p.m. curfew and more than two weeks after the decision not to reconfine, the explosion of Covid-19 cases feared because of the variants has still not taken place, but most of the specialists call for caution.
Read also: Covid-19: is the explosion of cases in March inevitable, as some epidemiologists announce?
"
We expected the explosion to be faster
", conceded Tuesday, February 16 on BFMTV Pascal Crépey, epidemiologist at the School of Higher Studies in Public Health (EHESP). "
But in January, we projected that the English variant would be dominant in March.
We are not yet totally wrong,
”he qualified.
EU urges 27 to avoid border closures
The European Commission urged member states to avoid border closures and general travel bans, as recently decided by Germany and Belgium to tackle variants of the coronavirus, in a letter on Tuesday February 16.
In addition to Germany and Belgium, seven other EU and Schengen area countries have reintroduced border controls in response to the pandemic: Denmark, Hungary, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Norway and Spain.
Read also: The Commission powerless in the face of border closures
The EU wants to organize itself in the face of mutations in the coronavirus, which could require modified versions of current vaccines, the Commission also said.
Japan vaccinates
Japan began on Wednesday February 17 the first stage of its vaccination campaign against the coronavirus, aimed first at protecting 40,000 employees in its medical sector, five months before the scheduled opening of the Tokyo Olympics, postponed year latest.
Netherlands: curfew confirmed
A Dutch appeals court on Tuesday (February 16th) suspended a judgment handed down earlier today by a court in The Hague which ordered the government to lift the national curfew on Covid-19, local media reported.
SEE ALSO -
Netherlands: Dutch people divided after court ordered lifting of curfew on Covid-19
The WTO wants to contribute
"
I think that the WTO can contribute more to the resolution of the Covid-19 pandemic by helping to improve the access of poor countries to vaccines,
" said his future boss Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Read also: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, an African at the WTO
Australia: containment lifted in Melbourne
The order of containment will be lifted Wednesday evening February 17 for the six million Australians living in the state of Victoria, the second most populous in the country, but doubts still hang over the possibility for tennis fans to attend the Australian Open, which takes place in Melbourne.
EU: Johnson & Johnson request green light for vaccine
The American laboratory Johnson & Johnson has submitted an authorization request for its vaccine against Covid-19 in the European Union, the European Medicines Agency announced on Tuesday.
A decision is expected in March.
Peru: ex-president Vizcarra questioned for a vaccine
The doctor who led in 2020 in Peru the clinical trial of the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm affirmed Tuesday February 16 in Parliament that the former president Martin Vizcarra, implicated in a scandal related to the vaccination against the Covid-19, had been immunized in October outside of the trial and at his request.
On Monday February 15, President Francisco Sagasti revealed that 487 people had been improperly vaccinated against Covid-19, including, in addition to two resigning ministers, other officials, who will be removed from their posts.
SEE ALSO -
Covid-19: in Peru, a secret vaccination scandal within the government outrages the population
New Covid cases drop 16%, WHO says
The number of new cases of Covid-19 reported worldwide fell 16% last week, to reach 2.7 million, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday evening February 16.
The number of new deaths reported was also down 10% from the previous week, reaching 81,000, according to the WHO's weekly epidemiological update, based on data through Sunday.
