The year 2021 starts under bad auspices: Turkey announced on Friday 1er January that the British variant of SARS-CoV-2 (called VoC 202012/01) had been spotted on its soil, the United States on the same day exceeded 20 million identified cases of Covid-19, a hotbed of infections detected in the Australian state of New South Wales has developed and vaccination campaigns are recording delays in many countries, pushing back the long-awaited upturn in this new year.
The pandemic has killed at least 1.8 million people worldwide for more than 83 million confirmed contaminations, according to a report established on Friday by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Page Contents
The British variant spotted in Turkey and Florida
Many countries fear another blaze after New Year’s Eve. The concern is all the greater as the variant of SARS-CoV-2 observed in the United Kingdom, considered to be more contagious, continues to spread around the planet . This variant was spotted in TurkeyTurkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Friday in fifteen people who recently traveled to the UK. Flights from the UK have been suspended until further notice.
To the United States, where the 202012/01 VoC was first spotted this week, first in Colorado and then in California, authorities in Florida announced Thursday that they had detected it in a resident who had not traveled recently. The famous American immunologist Anthony Fauci assured “Not to be surprised” nor particularly worried about the detection of the variant, believing that it was already circulating “Probably in other states”.
Over 20 million cases in the United States
The epidemic shows no sign of slowing down in the United States: the most bereaved country, with more than 346,000 deaths from Covid-19, exceeded 20 million recorded cases on Friday.
The world’s leading power had reached the 10 million cases detected on November 9. The pace of new infections has since skyrocketed: the country passed 19 million on Sunday, the equivalent of the population of New York State. This spectacular rebound in the epidemic since the fall has been made worse by the travel of millions of Americans for the big Thanksgiving family celebration in late November and the end-of-year celebrations, despite numerous calls from the authorities to stay at home.
Hopes of an eradication of the disease fueled by the arrival of vaccines have for their part been dampened by the slowness of the American vaccination campaign, weighed down by logistical difficulties and overwhelmed hospitals. Only 2.8 million Americans received the first dose of their Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, a far cry from the Trump administration’s stated target of 20 million people vaccinated by the end of 2020. One delay deplored by the elected president, Joe Biden, who has however shown himself determined to step up the pace. “Let’s be clear: the Biden-Harris administration is going to spare no effort to ensure that people are vaccinated”, he assured Friday.
BioNTech to increase production, Queen of Denmark vaccinated, Vatican begins campaign in mid-January
Vaccination campaigns are also the subject of criticism in Europe. In Germany, doctors deplored that hospital staff is not a priority in their country. Part of the difficulty is the relatively low number of orders placed by the European Union for its 27 member states, with a contract signed only in November, later than other countries.
The German company BioNTech explained that it plans to rapidly increase the production of its vaccine in Europe, developed with its American partner Pfizer, in order to fill a “Lack” in the absence of other approved vaccines. BioNTech intends in particular to run a new manufacturing unit in Marburg (Hesse) from February.
At Denmark, Queen Margrethe II, very popular, was vaccinated on Friday. The sovereign celebrated her 80th birthday in 2020, which placed her in the first cohort of Danes who could benefit from a vaccine.
The vaccination campaign will begin in mid-January in the Vatican. The Holy See clarified that the “Health and safety professionals, the elderly and personnel in frequent contact with the public” would have priority. The press release did not mention a possible vaccination of Pope Francis, 84.
Restrictions: mask compulsory in Sydney, Andorra ski resorts partially open, Greece extends confinement
In Australia, a focus of infections detected in New South Wales, the most populous state on the island mainland, developed on Saturday, with seven additional cases, while neighboring Victoria state recorded 10 new case. Gladys Berejiklian, Premier of the State of New South Wales, on Saturday announced new restrictions and made the wearing of masks compulsory across the state. New South Wales, which includes Sydney, has nearly 200 cases of Covid-19. The state of Victoria, which has 29 cases, has also made the wearing of a mask compulsory and put in place restrictions before closing its border with New South Wales. Australia has reported more than 28,000 cases since the start of the epidemic, while more than 900 deaths have been recorded in total.
In Andorra, the ski resorts will partially open on Saturday, but only for residents of the principality. The French and Spanish neighbors may be able to enjoy the Andorran tracks from January 9, depending on the evolution of epidemiological data in their country.
In Greece, the government announced, Saturday, January 2, the extension until January 10 of a strict confinement, imposed on the country for two months and initially to end on January 7. Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said these strict measures were being extended “for preventive reasons”, in view of the schools reopening on January 11.
India simulates vaccinations before launching large-scale campaign
India conducted simulations of vaccinations across the country on Saturday before launching, perhaps as early as this week, a massive vaccination campaign against Covid-19 in this country of 1.3 billion inhabitants. A government commission has recommended using the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca and the first injections could come this week, following the final green light given by the Indian drug authority.
India, the third most affected country after the United States and Brazil, has set itself an ambitious goal of vaccinating up to 300 million people by mid-2021. The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, has already stored tens of thousands of doses of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca, and some 96,000 healthcare workers have been trained to inoculate it.
Our selection of articles on the coronavirus
