LIVE - Coronavirus: record of new contaminations in the United States

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The second wave of Covid-19 continues to gain momentum.

France crossed the mark of one million cases of Covid-19 on Friday since the start of the epidemic, with more than 42,000 new cases in 24 hours.

A sign that the epidemic resumption is not weakening nearly a week after the entry into force of a curfew, which will be extended overnight from Friday to Saturday to 38 new departments.

In the United States, health authorities recorded a record of new contaminations on Friday: nearly 80,000 cases in 24 hours.

Ireland and Wales are once again confined, while Germany is experiencing an unprecedented wave of new contaminations.

The situation is "serious" in Europe, the new epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic, governments warn.

Information to remember:

• The curfew is extended in France to 38 new departments, ie two-thirds of French people affected by this measure

• France has exceeded one million cases since the start of the epidemic, including 42,000 new in 24 hours

• The hypothesis of a reconfinement is no longer ruled out by the executive 

• Europe is on the way to becoming the new epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic

• Record of new contaminations in the United States

More than a million cases since the start of the epidemic, including 42,000 new in 24 hours

France passed the threshold of one million cases of Covid-19 on Friday since the start of the epidemic, and the situation continues to deteriorate according to Public Health France.

A total of 42,032 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded on Friday, a new record since the generalization of large-scale tests, reaching a total of 1,041,075, according to figures published by the agency.

The death toll has also grown, with 298 new deaths recorded in 24 hours, for an overall death toll of at least 34,508 since the start of the epidemic.

The test positivity rate continues to climb, to 15.1% against 14.3% the day before, and only 4.5% at the beginning of September.

2,091 new patients were hospitalized (for a total of 15,008), and 299 new serious cases (+37) admitted to intensive care, bringing to 2,441 the number of seriously ill patients in sheave, 122 more in 24 hours.

46 million French people subject to curfew

Since Saturday morning, two-thirds of French people have been subject to a curfew.

Thursday, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced the extension of this measure to 38 new departments and Polynesia to deal with an "extremely high" circulation of the virus.

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In total, 54 departments and 46 million inhabitants are subject to a night curfew, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. for a period of six weeks.

The rules "will be the same as for the metropolises already placed in curfew since last Saturday", explained the Prime Minister.

The list of 54 departments under curfew:

The 38 additional departments (+ an overseas territory): Ain, Alpes-Maritimes, Ardèche, Ardennes, Ariège, Aube, Aveyron, Bas-Rhin, Calvados, South Corsica, Côte d'Or, Drôme, Gard, Haute-Corse, Haute-Loire, Haute-Savoie, Haute-Vienne, Hautes-Alpes, Hautes-Pyrénées, Ille-et-Vilaine, Indre-et-Loire, Jura, Loiret, Lozère, Maine-et-Loire, Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Oise, Pas-de-Calais, Puy-de-Dôme, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pyrénées-Orientales, Saône-et-Loire, Savoie, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Var, Vaucluse, Polynesia.

The 16 departments where the curfew is extended: Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, Essonne, Yvelines, Val-d'Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Isère, Nord , Rhône, Seine-Maritime, Bouches-du-Rhône, Hérault, Loire, Haute-Garonne.

The hypothesis of a reconfinement is not ruled out 

In this context, the head of government warned that if the epidemic was not contained, the government should "consider much tougher measures".

"There is still time to avoid it, but we don't have much time left," he added.

According to information from Europe 1, the hypothesis of a reconfinement is no longer a taboo subject in executive circles.

A minister even believes that this is the best measure to reduce hospital pressure.

Asked about the issue during a trip to Pontoise hospital, Emmanuel Macron considers that "it is too early today to say whether we are going towards local or broader reconfigurations".

Resuscitation services already saturated

Sign of this high tension in hospitals: patients suffering from Covid-19 have been transferred from Roubaix and Tourcoing, two cities facing a surge in the number of cases, to other establishments in the region.

Hospitals in Bordeaux, Poitiers and Brive will also welcome eight patients from Auvergne Rhône-Alpes "facing a situation of saturation of resuscitation capacities", announced the ARS of Nouvelle Aquitaine on Friday.

During the first wave of the epidemic, last spring, hospitals in Nouvelle Aquitaine had already received dozens of patients from the most affected regions.

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"Serious concern" in Europe, the reconfinements are increasing ...

Europe, which on Friday exceeded 8.2 million cases and 258,000 deaths, is now raising "serious concern", according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

All EU countries except Finland, Cyprus, Estonia and Greece now fall into this category, up from seven a month ago.

In Ireland, the entire population is re-confined for six weeks, non-essential businesses closed, but schools will remain open.

Dublin, the Irish capital, had taken on the appearance of a ghost town on Thursday.

Wales will in turn be confined on Friday for two weeks.

The Czech Republic, which has by far the highest number of new cases and deaths per 100,000 inhabitants over the last two weeks, sets up partial containment on Thursday until November 3: travel restrictions and contacts, closures of all stores and non-essential services.

... just like curfews

Curfew measures are also increasing on the Old Continent.

In the United Kingdom (excluding Wales), the most bereaved country in Europe (44,158 dead), more or less severe restrictions affect 28 million English people, including London, and pubs and restaurants are closed in Northern Ireland .

Belgium has opted for a night-time curfew and the closure of cafes and restaurants for a month, the authorities speaking of a situation "much worse" than in the spring.

Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmès is in intensive care.

In northern Italy, Lombardy, economic lung and the most affected region of the country, imposes a night curfew from Thursday for three weeks.

Campania, in the south, will follow on Friday.

Greece's two main cities, Athens and Thessaloniki, will also be subject to a nighttime curfew from Saturday.

In Slovakia, where contamination is also on the rise, the Prime Minister announced on Thursday the establishment of a partial curfew from 1 to 5 a.m. from Saturday.

During the day, travel will be restricted to certain special cases.

Hailed for its good management of the first epidemic wave in the spring, Germany (nearly 9,900 dead) has for its part recorded nearly 11,300 new cases in 24 hours, a record.

The authorities have issued assembly bans, a southern Alpine canton is almost confined and the mask compulsory in certain streets of Berlin.

Nearly 80,000 new cases in the United States in 24 hours

The United States broke its record for the number of new Covid-19 infections recorded in 24 hours on Friday, with nearly 80,000 new cases, according to continuously updated data from Johns Hopkins University.

79,963 contaminations have been identified, bringing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to nearly 8.5 million in the country.

The worst outbreaks are found in the North and Midwest, and some 35 out of 50 states are seeing an increase in the number of cases.

In this context, trials of experimental vaccines are resuming in the United States after apparent false alarms.

President Donald Trump, widely criticized for his management of the health crisis and who continues to question the dangerousness of the virus, has promised the imminent arrival of a vaccine, which he wants free.

His Democratic opponent Joe Biden also pledged on Friday that the vaccine would be "free for everyone" if he won the November 3 presidential election.

More than 1.13 million deaths worldwide

The pandemic has killed at least 1.13 million people worldwide since the end of December, according to an assessment established by AFP from official sources on Thursday.

More than 41.7 million cases of contamination have been officially diagnosed.

The United States is the most affected country with 223,059 deaths, followed by Brazil (156,471 deaths), India (117,306), Mexico (87,894) and the United Kingdom (44,347).