The pandemic has killed nearly 600,000 people worldwide, since the virus appeared in December in China, according to a report established by Agence France-Presse (AFP) from official sources, Saturday July 18, at 13 hours. More than 14 million cases have been officially diagnosed in 196 countries and territories, of which at least 7,708,100 are now considered cured.
However, this number of diagnosed cases only reflects a fraction of the actual number of infections, due to the disparity in screening capacities.
The countries that have recorded the most new deaths in their latest reports are Brazil with 1,163 new deaths, Chile (1,057) and the United States (927). Confronted since the end of June with a very strong resurgence of the virus, the United States remains the most affected country, both in terms of death and confirmed contamination (more than 139,000 deaths for 3.6 million cases). Next come Brazil (more than 77,800 dead), the United Kingdom (more than 45,000), Mexico (more than 38,000) and Italy (more than 35,000).
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New EU proposal on a recovery plan
To try to overcome the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus, European leaders resumed on Saturday in Brussels their difficult negotiations, begun the day before, on a massive recovery plan. A new proposal on a massive post-coronavirus recovery plan was submitted to leaders on Saturday.
This proposal aims to change the position of the four “frugal” states – the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Sweden – which block any compromise, by offering them concessions, in particular on the distribution between grants and loans, as well as on the conditions governing the payment of money.
Finance ministers and heads of central banks of the G20 industrialized countries will also discuss, on Saturday, ways to get the global economy back on track, weighed down by the health crisis.
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Barcelonians called to “stay at home”
Second Spanish city, very popular with international tourists, Barcelona has been facing an upsurge in Covid-19 cases for a few days. Nearly 4 million inhabitants of the agglomeration of Barcelona were called upon to “Stay at home as soon as it is not essential for them to go out” to slow the resumption of the epidemic. The Catalan government has also asked residents not to go to their second home this weekend.
The regional government has also announced the closure of cinemas, theaters or nightclubs, banning meetings of more than ten people and visits to retirement homes or limiting the capacity to 50% in the bars and restaurants. Non-essential businesses must receive their customers by appointment. These measures should last a priori two weeks. The inhabitants of the Catalan city of Lleida and the surrounding municipalities, totaling around 250,000 people, have been reconfigured since July 15.
“We must go back so as not to have to return in the coming weeks to total containment of the population”, insisted the spokesperson of the government, Meritxell Budo. The authorities of the country, severely affected by the coronavirus with more than 28,400 dead, have been monitoring more than 120 active households for several days, in particular in Catalonia. French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Saturday “Watch very closely” the health situation in Spain, while the border with France, closed for three months, reopened on June 21.
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Anti-Covid measures in Europe are tightening
In addition to Spain, authorities in several European countries have stepped up measures in the face of an increase in SARS-CoV-2 contamination and the threat of a second wave.
At Portugal, in the Lisbon region, new home confinement since 1er July for 700,000 inhabitants of around 20 neighborhoods. These measures were extended at least until the end of July.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the next steps for deconfinement in his country, saying he hoped for a “Back to normal as soon as possible from November, perhaps in time for Christmas”. Wearing a mask becomes compulsory in all stores in England from July 24. This was already the case in Scotland.
TheIreland had to fully reopen its bars on July 13 but postponed the last phase of deconfinement to August 10. Gatherings are limited to 50 people indoors and 200 outdoors, while masks become mandatory in stores.
Yet relatively spared by the Covid-19, theGermany authorizes reinforced containment measures at the local level with “Exit bans” in limited geographic areas.
The Hungary Since mid-July, nationals of African countries, South America, most Asian countries and certain European states have been denied access to its territory.
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The Covid-19 epidemic has reached a plateau in Brazil
Brazil has announced that it has identified more than two million cases of contamination on its soil, “But the real figure is probably four or five times higher”, reported Jean Gorinchteyn, infectious disease specialist at the Emilio Ribas Institute and at the Albert-Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo. The epidemic has reached a ” tray “ in Brazil, the second most affected country in the world in number of cases reported, said the World Health Organization (WHO), calling on the authorities to seize this “Opportunity to push back the disease”.
However, the virus continues to wreak havoc in Central America, where hospitals are on the verge of collapse, and protests by caregivers are increasing.
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More than 77,000 cases detected in 24 hours in the United States
For the third day in a row, the United States recorded a daily record of new cases, with more than 77,600 contaminations recorded in twenty-four hours, according to figures from Johns-Hopkins University, which are the benchmark. The number of contaminations recorded every twenty-four hours has systematically exceeded 60,000 for a week, approximately twice as many as in April, at the height of confinement.
The United States has known for several weeks an outbreak of infections in the south and west. In Texas and Arizona, local authorities have ordered refrigerated trucks to increase the capacity of morgues.
The resurgence of the pandemic represents “The main risk” for the American economy which recorded a historic contraction of 37% in the second quarter, warned Friday the International Monetary Fund.
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Israel reintroduces weekend weekend restrictions
Faced with the resurgence of contamination, Israel reinstated measures on Friday “Intermediaries to avoid general containment”. These are restrictions applied this weekend regarding the opening of shops and leisure: residents will be able to leave their homes, but shopping centers, stores, swimming pools, zoos, trams and museums will be closed Friday afternoon to Sunday morning (Sunday is a working day in Israel), the government said in a statement.
