Health authorities are unfavorable to a generalization of FFP2 masks, shorter hospital stays with Omicron, Italy is strengthening restrictions for the unvaccinated ...
Le Figaro
takes stock on Monday, January 10 on the latest related information to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read alsoCovid-19: can vaccines increase the risk of infection?
Health authorities unfavorable to the generalization of FFP2 masks
French health authorities are not in favor of generalizing the wearing of the FFP2 mask, although it is more protective against the spread of the coronavirus, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran said on Monday. "
The opinion of the HCSP
", the High Council of Public Health, "
would not go towards an extension of the port of the FFP2
", declared the minister during a hearing before the senators. "
According to the HCSP, we are quite far from extending FFP2 to other professional categories
," he said. "
Including elsewhere in the field of caregivers
", the port would only be recommended to those "
who are today considered at risk because exposed to droplets
" carrying the virus.
Read also Covid-19: compared to the Omicron variant, should we prefer the FFP2 mask?
Hospital stays are shorter with Omicron, according to Véran
Patients with Covid-19 stay in hospital for a shorter period and are sent to intensive care less when they are infected with the Omicron variant, which has become the majority in France in recent weeks, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, reported on Monday.
Compared to its predecessors, including the Delta variant in particular, Omicron "
gives less respiratory distress, so it sends fewer patients to intensive care
," said Olivier Véran during a hearing before the senators.
Omicron still causes "
fairly strong influenza syndromes
" and leads, like previous versions of the virus, "
a significant increase in hospitalizations
", warned Olivier Véran.
"SEE ALSO - Covid-19:"
It's because we find a lot that we test a lot
", says Olivier Véran
The majority "
do not intend to make the vaccination pass a permanent measure
", assures Castaner
The majority "
does not intend to make the
vaccination pass
a permanent measure
", assured Monday the boss of the LREM group to the National Assembly Christophe Castaner, while the bill transforming the health pass arrives in the Senate after tense debates into first reading in the National Assembly. LR parliamentarians want to see the health pass limited in time, and LR senator and rapporteur Philippe Bas should therefore notably propose in committee a mechanism providing for its extinction once certain conditions have been met.
"
Nobody intends to make the vaccination pass a permanent measure, but as long as we are in the situation where, on January 8, Saturday, there were 303,669 cases of Covid, the subject is not to presuppose the end
(of the device , Editor's note)
but to fight with all possible weapons to roll back the Covid in France
, ”Christophe Castaner reacted on Monday on France Inter.
The pass "
is not intended to be unlimited in time and we are not intended to legislate all the time
," he stressed.
Read alsoFake health passes: how hackers infiltrate health services
Novartis: positive results for anti-Covid treatment
The Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis announced on Monday that it had recorded positive results during phase II clinical trials on an antiviral treatment against Covid-19 developed with the Swiss laboratory Molecular Partners.
This phase II study called Empathy, carried out on 407 adult patients on an outpatient basis, aimed to evaluate the dosage of this treatment.
Phase III trials will be conducted with an additional 1,700 patients.
Read alsoCovid-19: this treatment that remains effective against Omicron
Pfizer pill: opinion of the European regulator within "
a few weeks
"
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced on Monday that it had started examining an application for authorization in the EU for the anti-Covid pill from the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer, specifying that an opinion could be issued in "
A few weeks
".
The EMA had approved in December the emergency use in the European Union of the treatment, known as Paxlovid, in order to support the national authorities, which can decide on the possible early use of the drug.
The EMA said it has now started to “
assess an application for a conditional marketing authorization
” for Paxlovid.
»SEE ALSO - Why 2022 could be the year of the end of the Covid
Italy tightens restrictions on the unvaccinated
In Italy, people not vaccinated against Covid-19 can no longer eat in restaurants or fly to travel within the country, according to the new rules that came into force on Monday.
Until March 31, you will need to have a vaccination pass proving that you have been vaccinated or that you have recently recovered, a negative test no longer sufficient to be able to use sports halls, buses, trains, planes, ships, or enter restaurants and hotels.
FFP2 masks are now mandatory in theaters, cinemas, sports stadiums and all public transport.
Read alsoVaccinated, unvaccinated, this choice that poisons social and family life
Pope Francis defends vaccines
Pope Francis on Monday called on the international community to "
continue the effort
" of vaccination, believing that the pandemic imposes a "
reality cure
" in the face of the spread of "
unfounded information
".
Read alsoCovid-19: what is the weight of the unvaccinated in the epidemic and in the hospital?
Sweden steps up health measures in the face of increasing Covid-19 cases
Faced with a rebound in Covid-19 cases, Sweden will introduce new measures to fight the virus, including a limited number of people for public and private gatherings, the government announced on Monday.
As of Wednesday, bars and restaurants will close at 11:00 p.m. and indoor public gatherings will be limited to 500 people - with a mandatory vaccination pass for any gathering of more than 50 people.
For now, the vaccination pass is only required for indoor events bringing together more than 500 people.
»SEE ALSO - In Sweden, a company offers to implant its health pass in its body, thanks to a microchip
India launches booster vaccination
India launched on Monday the booster vaccination against Covid-19 for seniors and caregivers, at a time when the epidemic is experiencing a meteoric upsurge attributed to the Omicron variant.
Read also Vaccine: "Can we make personal convictions prevail over civic obligations?"
China reports new cases of Omicron variant
China reported new cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant of Covid-19 on Monday, as the country faces several outbreaks less than a month from the Beijing Olympics.
In Xi'an (north), 13 million inhabitants are in their third week of confinement, a measure taken after the appearance of dozens of cases at the end of December.
And since this weekend, a new outbreak has worried the authorities in Tianjin, a large port city located about 100 km south-east of Beijing.
Several cases this weekend are linked to the Omicron variant, which was first detected in China last month in the same city.
And 21 new cases of Covid were announced Monday in Tianjin, without the variant involved being known for the moment.
The approximately 14 million inhabitants are urged to stay at home, while a massive screening of the population is underway.
»SEE ALSO - The Omicron variant could generate more dangerous variants, warns WHO
Nearly 5.5 million deaths worldwide
The pandemic has killed more than 5,486,519 worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP.
The United States is the most bereaved country with 837,664 dead, followed by Brazil (619,981), India (483,936) and Russia (316,904).
However, 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.