More than 300,000 cases in France, state of emergency in several overseas territories, extended curfew in Catalonia ...
Le Figaro
takes stock this Wednesday, January 5 on the latest information related to the Covid-19 pandemic .
Read also Covid-19: seven questions to understand what changes Omicron
Olivier Véran announces more than 300,000 cases in 24 hours this Wednesday
"Public Health France will communicate its figure this evening, but from memory, we were today at 335,000 contaminations in our country
," said Olivier Véran during the debates in the National Assembly on the bill establishing the vaccine pass.
As of Tuesday, a total of 271,686 cases of Covid-19 had been recorded in 24 hours, already a record.
Read alsoCovid-19: will the Omicron wave be the last?
Vaccination pass: Castex asks the Assembly to "debate as quickly as possible"
"It is your responsibility to debate as quickly as possible, taking into account the situation of our country, of Europe, of the world"
, declared the Prime Minister, who invited himself in a scalded hemicycle by the controversial remarks of Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday evening. Consideration of the bill was suspended shortly after.
“There is a difficulty with those of our fellow citizens who refuse to be vaccinated. This is not insulting anyone, it is reality, ”
insisted Jean Castex.
“The unvaccinated, I really want to piss them off. And so we will continue to do so, until the end, ”
proclaimed the Head of State in an interview with Le
Parisien,
published Tuesday evening.
"SEE ALSO -
" We must call a spade a spade, and empower our fellow citizens ": the rant of Jean Castex in the Senate
State of emergency in several overseas territories
The French government has declared a state of health emergency in Guadeloupe, Guyana, Mayotte, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy, overseas territories where
“under the effect of the Omicron variant, the circulation of the Covid- 19 is experiencing a considerable increase
, ”according to a decree presented to the Council of Ministers on Wednesday.
The text affirms that
"given the hospital capacities of these territories and the vaccination coverage of their population, the current epidemic wave of covid-19 constitutes a health catastrophe endangering (...) the health of the population".
Read also Covid-19: the State extends aid to businesses in the Overseas Territories for the end of 2021
One in 20 Britons infected in the UK last week
The number of people infected with the coronavirus broke new records last week in the UK with one in 20 people affected and peaks at one in 10 in London.
According to the National Statistics Office (ONS), which is based on a representative sample, 3.7 million people had Covid-19 in the last week of 2021, for a population of 67 million in the United Kingdom.
One in 15 people was infected in England, one in 20 in Scotland and Wales and one in 25 in Northern Ireland.
»SEE ALSO -
Covid-19: in London, the lack of staff and the severity of admissions put pressure on hospitals
Record of daily contaminations in the Netherlands
The Netherlands recorded a new record for the number of daily coronavirus infections on Wednesday, with 24,590 positive tests in a single day, the national institute of public health announced.
This new record exceeds that of 23,713 cases recorded on November 24.
According to the National Institute of Public Health, the Omicron variant is now predominant among new cases.
However, despite the rapid rise in contamination due to the contagiousness of the Omicron variant, the number of hospital admissions is decreasing.
There are now 449 Covid-19 patients in intensive care, 15 less than Tuesday, according to the National Coordination Center for the Distribution of Patients (LCPS).
See also Netherlands: Mark Rutte leaves for a fourth term
England loosens restrictions on overseas arrivals
The British government on Wednesday announced an easing of restrictions on travelers arriving from overseas to England, which were introduced after the appearance of the Omicron variant, a measure eagerly awaited by the transport industry.
From Friday, travelers will no longer have to be tested for Covid-19 before their trip and will no longer have to isolate themselves, if they are vaccinated, while awaiting the result of a PCR test carried out after their trip. arrival, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced to Parliament.
»SEE ALSO -
Covid-19: England will introduce the vaccination obligation for caregivers
Extended curfew in the Spanish region of Catalonia
Spanish justice extended by 14 days the nighttime curfew introduced in much of the region of Catalonia (North-East) on Wednesday in order to curb the explosion of cases of Covid-19 linked to the Omicron variant.
The Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), whose approval had been requested by the Catalan regional executive, deemed this extension justified in view of the epidemiological
"situation"
in this region which
"currently presents rather unfavorable characteristics" .
Read alsoCovid-19: extended curfew in Catalonia
Record of contaminations in Israel
Israel announced on Wednesday that it had recorded nearly 12,000 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, a new record of contamination since the start of the pandemic.
"SEE ALSO -
Covid-19: Israel says 4th dose of vaccine increases antibodies fivefold
China: the 13 million inhabitants of the city of Zhengzhou screened
In China, the city of Zhengzhou (center) on Wednesday began screening its 13 million inhabitants after a few cases of Covid and the confined metropolis of Xi'an announced, for its part, the
"control"
of a recent focus of infection.
While the number of new patients in the country had reached in recent weeks levels not seen since March 2020 (between 100 and 200), a reflux seems to have started, the Ministry of Health announcing Wednesday only 91 new cases.
Read alsoChina locks up the city of Xi'an and locks itself in its zero Covid strategy
Hong Kong closed to 8 countries
Hong Kong on Wednesday banned all arrivals by air travelers from eight countries, including France, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Other measures announced include a ban on large-scale public events and the closure of 15 types of businesses, including bars, nightclubs, gyms and beauty salons.
Read also Covid-19: Hong Kong suspends its AstraZeneca vaccine order
Third wave in Peru
Peru is facing a third wave of Covid-19 following an increase in contamination linked to the end-of-year celebrations, the government announced.
"During the month of December, the cases of coronavirus doubled in Lima and increased by more than 50% at the national level"
, indicated the Minister of Health who must propose Wednesday to the Council of Ministers to adopt new restrictions .
»SEE ALSO -
Covid-19: after reassessment, Peru becomes the country with the highest per capita death rate in the world
Masks are compulsory again on the streets in Romania
Romanians will again have to wear a surgical mask to go out in the street, the government announced on Wednesday, while the number of daily Covid-19 contaminations has more than tripled since the start of 2022.
“This new variant (Omicron, Editor's note) is extremely contagious, which is why wearing a mask is becoming compulsory outside as it is already inside, ”
the Secretary of State for the Interior, Raed Arafat, told reporters. months after the repeal of this constraint.
Read alsoRomania shaken by a deep political crisis
Arsenal League Cup semi-final first leg postponed
Liverpool announced on Wednesday that their semi-final first leg of the League Cup, scheduled for Thursday in London against Arsenal, had been postponed due to a
"growing number of positive Covid-19 tests among players and staff"
.
The latest round of tests conducted by the club on Tuesday revealed a
"significant"
number of new cases, including assistant coach Pepijn Lijnders who was already replacing Jürgen Klopp, himself infected last week, leaving the team
"with a insufficient number of players available to play the meeting ”,
explain the Reds in their press release.
Read alsoFoot: the semi-final first leg of the Arsenal-Liverpool League Cup postponed due to the Covid
Djokovic: a derogation that makes people cringe
The medical exemption granted to Novak Djokovic to participate in the Australian Open tennis tournament (January 17-30) arouses indignant reactions in the country, where the Prime Minister threatened to return the Serbian
"by the first plane If
this exemption was not justified.
Silent on his vaccination status, the world No.1 had left the doubt, for months, on his participation in the first Grand Slam of the year, because of the obligation made to the players to be vaccinated against the Covid-19 for enter Australia.
"SEE ALSO -
The boss of Tennis Australia" understands "the annoyance over Djokovic's medical exemption
Louvre Museum: attendance well below in 2021
The Louvre museum has seen its attendance suffer again in 2021, posting a decline of 70% compared to 2019 despite a clear recovery at the end of the year, according to figures announced Wednesday.
The largest museum in the world, closed from January 1 to May 19, 2021 due to the health crisis, welcomed 2.8 million visitors, 100,000 more than in 2020.
Read also In 2021, the Louvre is barely doing better than in 2020 in terms of number of visitors
More than 5.45 million dead
The pandemic has killed at least 5,456,207 people around the world since the end of December 2019, according to an assessment established by AFP from official sources, Wednesday at 11:00 GMT.
In absolute terms, the United States is the most bereaved country with 830,284 dead, followed by Brazil (619,384), India (482,551) and Russia (313,015).
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 officially recorded.
