New health restrictions expected Thursday in France, vaccines which protect only 40% of transmission because of the Delta variant, the Netherlands plan to strengthen their health restrictions ...
Le Figaro
takes stock this Wednesday, November 24 on the latest information related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read also Covid-19: what the executive could announce to stem the fifth wave
1,483 patients in intensive care in French hospitals
The epidemic is progressing in France, where 80 people have died from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, according to the report from Public Health France published on Wednesday.
8,765 patients are currently hospitalized, including 770 since the day before.
They were 8,525 on Tuesday.
1,483 patients are treated in critical care services, including 137 admitted on Wednesday, against 1,455 the day before.
Read alsoFifth wave: at the hospital, "we are concerned about the risk of overflow"
Olivier Véran will announce new measures in France
Faced with the resumption of the Covid-19 epidemic, the government confirmed its main orientations on Wednesday.
"Obviously the health pass remains a central tool: (...) we even want to strengthen it,"
government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday after a health defense council, then d 'a council of ministers.
The government has examined what to do in the midst of the resumption of the epidemic in France, with more than 30,000 cases diagnosed on Tuesday.
Read also Covid-19: masks, barrier gestures, tests, vaccines ... Véran will unveil the executive's announcements on Thursday noon
"It is by enforcing our rules and being extremely scrupulous that we will be able to save the end of year celebrations
,
"
added Gabriel Attal. But he did not give details, while excluding in the current context a return to curfew or confinement. The spokesperson referred to a conference to be held Thursday
“at midday” by
the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, while the government consults with parliamentary representatives and local elected officials. The Minister of Labor Élisabeth Borne will also have a discussion Thursday morning with the social partners on the epidemic situation, but no modification of the company protocol is on the table, AFP learned in his entourage on Wednesday.
»SEE ALSO -
Covid-19: Véran will present new measures on Thursday
Call for the lifting of dams in Martinique
The inter-union, which launched a strike movement in Martinique on Monday, decided to lift the roadblocks to avoid an escalation of violence, after shots fired on the police in the French West Indies.
In neighboring Guadeloupe, the prefecture decided, after a fifth night of violence, to extend the curfew until November 28.
Guadeloupe and, recently, Martinique, two French Caribbean islands, are shaken by a social movement to denounce the vaccine obligation and the suspensions of caregivers, but also the cost of living, and fuel prices.
»SEE ALSO -
Blockages and gatherings still underway in Guadeloupe despite the call for calm
Because of Delta vaccines only protect 40% of transmission, according to WHO
The highly contagious Delta variant has reduced the effectiveness of vaccines against disease transmission to 40%, the WHO boss said on Wednesday, urging people to continue wearing masks and other barrier practices.
"Vaccines save lives, but they do not completely prevent the transmission of Covid-19"
, explained Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a regular press briefing devoted to the pandemic, which is wreaking havoc in Europe.
Read alsoAfter the emergence of the Delta variant, Roche's monoclonal antibodies replaced those of Eli Lilly in the hospital
“There is data that suggests that before the arrival of the Delta variant, vaccines reduced transmission by about 60%, with Delta this dropped to 40%,”
he said.
"In many countries and communities, we fear that there is this misconception that vaccines have ended the pandemic, and that people who are vaccinated no longer need to take other precautions"
, he added.
»SEE ALSO -
Because of the Delta variant, vaccines only protect 40% of transmission according to WHO
Slovakia announces new restrictions
Slovakia announced new restrictions on Wednesday to deal with a strong rebound in the Covid-19 epidemic, with restaurants and non-essential stores closed from Thursday, while schools will remain open.
"We will do a new assessment in ten days,"
Economy Minister Richard Sulik told reporters, as Slovakia has one of the highest coronavirus contamination rates in the world.
Slovakia: criticized for its management of Covid-19, the Prime Minister wants to resign
Europe called on to react urgently to avoid another massacre
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Wednesday called on member states to
“urgently”
take
action against the ongoing epidemic rebound in Europe and the risk of a
“very high”
health burden
in December and January.
Booster doses for anti-Covid vaccines must be
“available”
for adults, giving priority to those over 40 and vulnerable people, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday after a call for this from the ECDC.
'SEE ALSO -
EU Diseases Agency calls on Member States to take action' now 'to curb Covid-19
Netherlands plans to tighten health restrictions, despite riots
The Dutch government could announce a strengthening of health restrictions on Friday, the Minister of Health announced on Wednesday, after nights of riots and protests against the latest health measures that have shaken the Netherlands in recent days.
A new
"dismal and disturbing"
wave
of new cases of Covid-19 has pushed the executive to bring forward by one week the meeting initially scheduled for December 3, which must adapt health measures to the epidemic recovery, explained Hugo de Jonge in front of journalists.
Read alsoThe Netherlands plan to strengthen their health restrictions, despite the riots
This ministerial meeting will be followed by a press conference by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, where the head of state will announce the new decisions, he added.
The Minister of Health refused to
"anticipate"
the new restrictions envisaged, which according to the Dutch media could include a closure of schools, where we are currently witnessing an explosion of infections.
»SEE ALSO -
Night of riots in the Netherlands during a demonstration against anti-Covid measures
One billion euros released in Germany for caregivers and nursing assistants
A sum of one billion euros will be released in favor of caregivers and caregivers
"particularly in demand"
by the Covid-19 pandemic, the future Social Democratic chancellor, Olaf Scholz, announced on Wednesday.
Germany, overwhelmed by an imposing fourth wave of infections, must also
"study"
a possible
"extension"
of the vaccination obligation, already in force in the army and soon in health facilities, said during an Olaf Scholz press conference.
Read also Covid-19: Germany extends its economic aid until April 2022
1,000 anti-vaccine protesters protest in Kiev
A thousand Ukrainians demonstrated in Kiev on Wednesday against the Covid-19 vaccination and restrictions, as the country, where the vaccination rate is low, faces its worst wave of coronavirus. The protesters, who blocked traffic in the city center of the capital, waving placards which read:
"Stop the false pandemic"
,
"Say no to genocide!"
or
“Say no to lies”
.
Four vaccines are currently available in Ukraine - Pfizer / BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and the Chinese Coronavac - but many are hesitant, particularly fearing complications.
Despite the campaign ramping up in recent weeks, under pressure from authorities who introduced restrictions on the unvaccinated, only 26% of Ukrainians have received two doses so far.
Several Ukrainian officials recently assured them that opposition to vaccines in the country was organized by the Kremlin, in order to destabilize the situation in its neighbor, with whom Moscow has been at loggerheads since 2014.
Read alsoUkraine at gunpoint as Russia masss troops at its border
Russia: antivaxers invited to hospitals
Reputable Russian doctors on Wednesday invited celebrities and politicians opposed to vaccines to visit hospitals treating Covid-19 patients, in order to see the effects of the disease with their own eyes. Only 37.2% of Russians are immune to date, according to the specialized site Gogov.
For his part, President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday renewed his call for the Russians to be vaccinated against Covid-19, while insisting on a vaccination which must remain voluntary, despite the surge in deaths for weeks.
"I recommend everyone not only to be vaccinated on time, but also to be revaccinated,"
said Vladimir Poutine during a government meeting by videoconference.
"I think vaccination should remain voluntary,"
he also stressed, calling for
"convincing"
the Russians of the need for vaccination rather than forcing them.
"SEE ALSO -
Vladimir Putin denounces" dishonest competition "from certain G20 countries in the anti-Covid vaccination campaign
Borders closed until the end of April in New Zealand
New Zealand announced Wednesday that its borders will remain closed to foreign travelers until the end of April, when the archipelago gradually eases measures for international arrivals, so far among the strictest in the world.
More than 5.16 million dead
The pandemic caused by the coronavirus has killed at least 5,165,289 people around the world since the end of 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Wednesday at 11:00 GMT.
The United States is the most bereaved country, with 773,857 deaths, ahead of Brazil (613,066), India (466,584), Mexico (292,850) and Russia (267,819).
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the global toll of the pandemic could be two to three times higher than that calculated from official figures .
