Polynesia placed under curfew, daily record of deaths in Russia, new restrictions in Finland ...
Le Figaro
takes stock, Thursday, August 12, on the latest information related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
To discover
Covid-19: what we know about the Delta variant
Read also: Covid-19: a catastrophic situation overseas and very tense in the south of France
More than 1,800 patients in critical care in French hospitals
The epidemic continues to spread in France, where 77 deaths from Covid were counted on Thursday in hospitals.
With 191 new critical care admissions in 24 hours, the number of patients in these services who treat the most serious cases reached 1,807, up from the previous day (1,745).
They were 1420 last Thursday.
Hospitals welcomed 9,465 patients on Thursday - against 9,233 the day before - including 894 admitted in the last 24 hours.
Read also: Health pass: extending the validity of screening tests from 48 to 72 hours is it risky?
Polynesia placed under curfew and confined on Sundays
French Polynesia has been placed under curfew, from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., and the islands of Tahiti and Moorea will be confined, only on Sundays for now, in order to curb the Covid-19 epidemic.
Access to the beaches will be prohibited in particular on that day.
After several months of very weak circulation of the virus, the epidemic experienced a sudden resurgence in early August in Polynesia because of the Delta variant.
Read also: Covid-19: curfew in Polynesia and confinement on Sundays in certain islands
Confinement and prolonged curfew in Reunion Island
The partial confinement of Reunion Island, in force since July 31, has been extended until August 31, even though the curfew has been reduced by one hour due to the return to school on Monday, a indicated Thursday the prefect Jacques Billant.
The re-containment initially established for two weeks to curb an outbreak of the epidemic will be extended until the end of the month, with travel limited to 10 km around his home (5 km on Sunday), he said. explained during a press briefing.
On the other hand, the curfew, which was in effect from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m., will now only begin at 7 p.m., due to the constraints linked to the start of the school year on Monday, after the southern winter holidays.
Read also: Covid-19: a critical situation in much of the overseas territories
Guadeloupe in the midst of an epidemic "peak" according to Sébastien Lecornu
Guadeloupe is in the midst of an
"epidemic peak"
of Covid-19 with
"a lot of patients who present themselves at the same time"
in hospitals, explained Thursday the Minister of Overseas Sébastien Lecornu, who is preparing
"the reinforcements of the reinforcements"
sent on the spot. In a telephone interview recorded during the night and broadcast on France Inter Thursday morning, the minister, who arrived in Guadeloupe on Tuesday evening, said he was
"quite upset"
by what he saw.
Asked about the testimonies of hospital doctors claiming to have to sort the sick and refuse entry into intensive care for over 60s, Sébastien Lecornu stressed that the caregivers told him
"also that the situation is extraordinarily difficult in Guadeloupe, and that fundamentally it is not, unfortunately, a problem of reinforcements, it is a problem of peak of this epidemic ”.
Read also: Covid-19: strict confinement established in Guadeloupe for three weeks
“It's not even a wall anymore. We anticipated all the scenarios, we put a lot of resources on the table, but the problem is that it is no longer even a problem of resources, it is that a lot of patients, all unvaccinated, come forward. at the same time in hospitals, ”
he explained.
"SEE ALSO -
" For 24 hours we have reached saturation ": Sébastien Lecornu meets the doctors of the University Hospital of Guadeloupe in the face of a violent return of the Covid-19
At least 5 million people targeted for 3rd dose
About 5 million elderly or
"very high risk" people
are targeted as a priority for a
"booster dose"
of anti-Covid vaccine from mid-September, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday.
This figure mainly includes residents of nursing
homes
and
long-term care units (USLD), people over 80 living
"at home"
, as well as patients
"at very high risk of severe form"
of Covid and
“immunocompromised”
patients
.
Although to date there is
"no stabilized scientific opinion on the categories that could benefit from this booster dose"
, these are the subject of a
"consensus"
between the High Authority for Health ( HAS), the Scientific Council and the Vaccine Strategy Orientation Council.
Read also: Covid-19: at least 5 million people will be able to receive a third dose of vaccine
At least one dose of vaccine for 8 out of 10 caregivers in France
One month from the entry into force of the vaccination obligation for health personnel, 80% of caregivers working in hospitals or nursing homes have received at least one injection, according to the Ministry of Health.
Vaccination is progressing clearly among caregivers, forced to receive at least one dose by September 15 or be suspended.
In health establishments (public and private), the proportion of professionals
"having received at least one injection"
thus increased from 64% on May 31 to 80% on August 8, according to a document from the ministry released at the beginning of the week to liberal unions and hospital federations.
Also read: How the Mandatory Vaccination Debate Thrives
Based on an estimate from Public Health France, this presentation, of which AFP has obtained a copy, does not specify the levels of vaccination by profession.
Significant disparities persist, however, as at the Public Assistance-Hospitals of Paris, which reported Tuesday 94% of first-time vaccines among doctors, against 68% of nurses and 49% of nursing assistants.
»SEE ALSO -
Do vaccines promote the appearance of new variants?
Daily record of deaths in Russia
Russia recorded 808 deaths on Thursday caused by Covid-19 in 24 hours, a record since the start of the pandemic which is due to the Delta variant and a sluggish vaccination campaign.
This report brings to 168,049 the number of deaths recorded by the government as being due to Covid-19.
Russian statistics agency Rosstat, which has a broader definition, reports more than 300,000 dead at the end of June 2021.
Read also: Covid-19: in Russia, vaccination slowed by general mistrust
Australia's capital, Canberra, in turn confined
A seven-day lockdown of Canberra, the Australian capital, was declared Thursday by the authorities after the discovery of a case of coronavirus.
About 400,000 inhabitants of this city, where the government sits, will be confined as of Thursday 5:00 p.m. (08:00 GMT), and will thus join the millions of Australians in the south-east of the huge island-continent already forced to stay at home.
»SEE ALSO -
Canberra, the capital of Australia, in turn confined
Caregivers employed by the US federal state must be vaccinated against Covid-19
Health workers employed by the US federal state will be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19, the Department of Health said in a statement on Thursday. The measure affects 25,000 people in contact with patients in health facilities operated directly by the federal state, including staff of the Indian Health Service, which provides care to members of Native American tribes across the country.
The press release does not specify the deadline given to employees to be vaccinated.
“Our primary focus is the health and safety of the American public, including our federal personnel.
And vaccines are the best tool at our disposal to protect people against Covid-19, prevent the spread of the Delta variant, and save lives, ”
said Minister of Health Xavier Becerra.
Read also: Covid-19: in the United States, getting vaccinated can pay off big
New restrictions in Finland
Finland will impose new health restrictions to fight the spread of the coronavirus in its capital Helsinki, authorities said on Thursday, after recording a record daily infection rate in the country.
As of August 20, in and around Helsinki, indoor events will be limited to 25 people, and outdoor gatherings to 50.
Read also: Finland strengthens its restrictions in the face of a record of Covid-19 contamination
China partially closes one of the world's major ports
China has shut down part of one of the world's most important ports because of Covid, at a time when disruptions in logistics transport are already weighing heavily on supply chains.
The port of Ningbo-Zhoushan, located 250 km south of Shanghai, is one of the main Chinese ports for freight.
Last year, 1.2 billion tonnes of goods passed through the docks of this port, the third largest in the world in terms of shipment.
Since the discovery on Wednesday of a case of Covid-19 among the employees,
"the activity was immediately stopped and the area closed,"
said Jiang Yipeng, an operations manager of the Meishan terminal.
Read also: Covid-19: the WHO investigation hampered by China
In May, the temporary closure of the Chinese port of Yantian (south) due to coronavirus resulted in weeks of delays in shipping goods.
China, which had largely controlled the Covid epidemic since the spring of 2020, has been facing a resurgence of contamination on its soil since last month.
The country reported 81 new cases on Thursday, including 38 of local origin.
»SEE ALSO -
Reconfinement, mass tests: China is fighting against an upsurge in Covid-19 cases
More than 4.3 million dead
The pandemic has killed at least 4,323,957 people around the world since the end of December 2019, out of more than 204.7 million infections, according to a report established by AFP from official sources Thursday at 10:00 GMT.
The United States is the country with the most deaths (618,479), ahead of Brazil (565,748), India (429,669), Mexico (246,203) and Peru (197,146).
The World Health Organization estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the toll of the pandemic could be two to three times higher than that calculated from official figures.