France is entering the first phase of its deconfinement with the opening of terraces, cultural places and non-essential shops.
Several other countries followed suit such as Austria and the United States while India recorded a new 24-hour death record.
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Covid-19: vaccination as the only remedy
Live: LIVE - Deconfinement: the French are back on the terraces for lunch
3,862 patients in intensive care in France
The number of patients in intensive care in France continues to decline, falling below the 4,000 mark. 3,862 people were in fact hospitalized in these services on Wednesday, including 168 in 24 hours.
In total, French hospitals had 21,347 patients with Covid-19, including 712 admitted in the last 24 hours.
141 people have also died in hospital in 24 hours, bringing the toll to 81,833 dead in French hospitals since the start of the pandemic.
19,050 new cases of Covid-19 have been detected since the day before, against 17,210 on Tuesday.
The test positivity rate remains stable at 4.5%.
Read also: Covid-19: the decline of the epidemic continues in France
Wave of reopening in France
The French savor Wednesday the reopening - with gauge - terraces of cafes and restaurants as well as museums, cinemas, theaters and
"non-essential"
shops
, after more than six months of life in slow motion.
The curfew is delayed to 9:00 p.m.
Read also: Reopening of shops and terraces: the gentle awakening of the Champs-Élysées
French President Emmanuel Macron and his Prime Minister Jean Castex took a very high profile coffee on the terrace to illustrate, according to the Head of State,
"a little moment of rediscovered freedom".
We can hope to
"turn the page on Covid"
in
"November or December"
, if new variants that bypass vaccination have not emerged by then, estimated the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran.
»SEE ALSO -
Reopening: the terraces taken by storm in the big cities
European Union: vaccinated travelers welcome
Representatives of EU member states agreed on Wednesday to allow entry to travelers from third countries who have received the necessary doses of anti-Covid vaccines authorized at European level, AFP learned from European sources.
Read also: The Twenty-Seven reach an agreement to allow entry into the EU to fully vaccinated travelers
The ambassadors of the 27 approved this recommendation proposed by the European Commission, which is however not binding on the States.
They also agreed to set up a coordinated emergency mechanism in order to quickly suspend arrivals from a third country in the event of a deterioration of the health situation due to the appearance of variants.
Restaurants and cultural venues reopened in Austria
The return to normal life goes even further in Austria, where restaurants, hotels and places of culture reopen fully on Wednesday.
However, it will be necessary to show a white paw at the entrance of the various places, by carrying out a test on site when possible or by presenting a negative result, proof of vaccination or antibodies.
Read also: Covid-19: Austria will stop using AstraZeneca
New York drops the mask
As of Wednesday, people who have been vaccinated can no longer wear the mask in New York State, even indoors.
In France, the government
"strongly hopes"
that the French are no longer obliged to wear the mask outdoors this
"summer",
its spokesperson Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday.
In recent days, however, cities and prefectures have already anticipated a lifting of the obligation.
»SEE ALSO -
Deconfinement: down the masks?
India: new death record in 24 hours
India recorded a new record of 4,529 deaths from Covid-19 in 24 hours on Wednesday, still under the effect of a violent second epidemic wave, while the number of new contaminations tended to decrease.
Read also: India: vaccination slows as the Covid-19 epidemic accelerates
Taiwan: alert level raised
Taiwan has raised the level of its health alert to 3 due to an outbreak of contaminations, notably synonymous with wearing a compulsory mask outside, closing of theaters, libraries and sports facilities.
Some 267 new local contaminations were identified on Wednesday, bringing the total over five days to more than 1,200. A possible change to level 4 of the health alert would lead to general containment.
Read also: Covid-19: fear of a rebound shakes Asia
Pharmaceutical industry calls for vaccine sharing
Leading pharmaceutical industry organizations urged on Wednesday to
"step up responsible dose sharing"
of Covid-19 vaccines around the world, believing that production will be sufficient to
"vaccinate the world's adult population"
by the end of the year.
Read also: Vaccines: the pharmaceutical industry calls for sharing the doses
Olympic Games Tokyo: extensive vaccination of residents of the Olympic Village
At least 75% of residents of the Olympic village of the Tokyo Games
"have already been vaccinated or planned to do so"
before the Olympics, reassured IOC President Thomas Bach on Wednesday, when Japan fears the health risks they are doing weigh on the country.
Read also: Olympic Games - More than 80% of Japanese against the Olympics this summer (poll)
More than 3.4 million dead
The pandemic has killed at least 3,406,803 people around the world since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Wednesday at 10:00 GMT.
After the United States (587,219), the countries with the highest number of deaths are Brazil (439,050), India (283,248), Mexico (220,746), and the United Kingdom (127,691).
