The number of patients in hospitals still on the rise, shortage of tests in the United States, the cultural world manifested in Belgium ...
Le Figaro
takes stock this Christmas weekend on the latest information related to the Covid pandemic- 19.
More than 16,000 Covid patients in French hospitals
French hospitals are always full.
On Boxing Day, Public Health France listed 16,365 patients with Covid-19 taken care of, including 3,299 in critical care.
As of Saturday, 16,162 patients were in hospital, including 3,282 in critical care.
A health defense council on Monday
While the day of Saturday was marked by an absolute record of contaminations - 104,611 new cases recorded in 24 hours, a first since the appearance of the epidemic -, the executive decided to convene a Health Defense Council on Monday afternoon.
Chaired from the Fort de Brégançon (Var), where Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron went for the end of the year celebrations, the meeting will be held by videoconference.
It will take place in the wake of the Council of Ministers, during which the bill will be presented to transform the health pass into a vaccination pass by mid-January.
Read also Covid-19: what the executive could announce at the end of the Health Defense Council on Monday
Lack of screening tests in the United States
The shortage of Covid-19 tests observed in the United States will soon be resolved, assured Dr.Anthony Fauci, senior White House adviser in the fight against the pandemic, on Sunday, as the country sees an outbreak of cases. due to the Omicron variant.
Read also United States: the Covid redraws the demographic map
"
One of the problems right now is that (the tests) will not be fully available to everyone before January
," said the epidemiologist while on the occasion of the family holiday season, the United States have experienced a real rush for testing, especially for home testing kits.
The cultural world manifests in Belgium
Several thousand people, 5,000 according to the police, demonstrated on Sunday in Brussels to protest against the closure of performance halls imposed by the authorities to stem the spread of the Omicron variant, AFP journalists noted.
Read also Covid-19: the measures taken by our European neighbors to counter the Omicron wave
Perched on a platform, officials of major Brussels cultural institutions, such as the Royal Flemish Theater (KVS) and the La Monnaie opera house, called on politicians to “
reconsider
” the decision to close theaters from Sunday, while the last wave of the pandemic continues to ebb in Belgium.
China: Xi'an city tightens restrictions again
The Chinese city of Xi'an, where 13 million inhabitants are confined, announced Sunday a "
total
"
disinfection
and tightened the restrictions, at a time when China has recorded a record number of Covid-19 contaminations for 21 months.
Read also Covid-19: China punishes 26 officials for the Xi'an outbreak
The Asian country has been applying a “
zero Covid
”
strategy since last year,
which consists of doing everything to limit the occurrence of new cases as much as possible.
The authorities are redoubling their vigilance to avoid any major outbreak before the Beijing Winter Olympics (February 4-20).
Australian Open, football, rugby: the Covid-19 disrupts the game
Canadian Denis Shapovalov, 14th in the ATP ranking, tested positive for Covid-19 after arriving in Sydney, he announced on Sunday, highlighting the threat of the virus hanging over the Australian Open (17 -January 30).
In England, Crystal Palace French football coach Patrick Vieira has also tested positive, the Eagles have announced.
Thirteen matches, including three on Matchday 19, have been postponed for health reasons in England in recent weeks.
Read alsoTop 14: Toulouse-Stade Français shock postponed, Parisians affected by Covid
In rugby, a fourth match of the French championship which was to oppose the Toulouse Stadium to the French stadium on Sunday on the occasion of the 13th day, has also been postponed.
More than 5.39 million deaths worldwide
The Covid-19 pandemic has killed more than 5,395,400, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. GMT.
In absolute terms, the United States is the most affected country with 816,533 deaths, followed by India (479,682), Russia (304,218) and Mexico (298,759).
Among the countries hardest hit, Peru is the one that deplores the highest number of deaths in relation to its population.
The Europe region is the one which currently records the most deaths in the world with 53% of the total in the last seven days, followed by the USA / Canada zone (22%).
The World Health Organization (WHO) 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 officially recorded.