Coronavirus: the state of the world facing the pandemic Sunday, April 5

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The United States is seeing the epidemic progress rapidly. They record more than 300,000 cases and more than 8,000 deaths. Still no compulsory confinement in the country while Italy and Spain which strictly apply it see their situation stabilize.

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The coronavirus pandemic kills nearly 66,000 people worldwide this Sunday. 6,000 more than yesterday.

More than one million two hundred thousand cases have been officially diagnosed, 100,000 more than yesterday. 190 countries and territories are concerned. Same figure as yesterday.

No region has been spared, as shown by the following statistics compiled by AFP: Europe 47,093 deaths for 642,330 cases, United States and Canada 8,747 deaths (326,117 cases), Asia 4,172 deaths (117,571 cases) , Middle East 3,779 deaths (74,670 cases), Latin America and the Caribbean 1,052 deaths (30,539 cases), Africa 388 deaths (8,578 cases), and Oceania 41 deaths (6,675 cases).

France: the peak of the epidemic is "getting closer"

Controls are multiplying to maintain the containment effort despite the holidays. The authorities fear a relaxation of the French on this sunny Sunday. The peak of the epidemic is "approaching", according to the Director General of Health who is concerned, in a tweet, about this relaxation.

Evacuations to relieve hospitals in Ile-de-France are continuing. In total, according to the Directorate General of Health, more than 550 patients in critical condition have been referred to provincial hospitals since March 18.

Guyana is now in stage 2 of the epidemic. It thus joins Reunion and Mayotte, while Martinique and Guadeloupe are in stage 3, like metropolitan France.

Fears in the UK

Queen Elisabeth II encourages the British to rise to the challenge of the pandemic. " Those who will succeed us will say that the British of this generation were as strong as the others ."

Social distancing recommendations " will stay in place for weeks, " says Boris Johnson, who fears that the death toll will increase further in the next 15 days. The country is looking to test all of its medical staff and urges laboratories to produce large numbers of tests. For the Health Services Coordinator, Helen Lee. “ The coronavirus is like a tsunami, there cannot be a buoy for everyone. "

Spain: declining figures….

Spain still hopes to reach the peak of the epidemic in the coming days. The country registers 674 dead in 24 hours. It's the third consecutive day of decline

The confinement continues but the authorities envisage, after Easter, the return to work of certain non-essential workers.

On this Sunday, not being able to go to mass is an additional source of stress for Catholic Spaniards.

Italy: containment ends up paying

Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday Mass, which marks the start of Easter week, in a deserted Saint Peter's Basilica.

The population complies with the confinement rules. There are notable exceptions: 9,284 people were fined yesterday for having found themselves outside their home without justification. Containment ends up paying. The decrease in the number of patients in intensive care , relieves the pressure on hospitals.

Death tends to stabilize " Without these restrictions, we would have already recorded at least 30,000 more deaths ," said Professor Franco Locatelli, president of the Superior Health Council.

But masks continue to be lacking, while health authorities now recommend that the public wear them outdoors. The population will enter its fifth week of confinement on Monday.

Second quarantined migrant camp in Greece

In Greece, the Malakasa camp, located 38 kilometers from Athens, was placed "in total sanitary confinement". It is the second quarantined migrant camp in the country.

Trump finally abandons optimism

New front line of the disease, the United States recorded the most new deaths in 24 hours, with 1,399 additional victims, including 1,905 deaths for the city of New York alone.

President Trump is definitely abandoning the optimism of the previous weeks. Americans must prepare for the "horrible" and "a lot of deaths," he warned.

Donald Trump blames the shortage of medical supplies on the Obama administration and still refuses to make federal supplies available to the governors who request them. Many voices are now rising to demand from President Trump a clear strategy .

Despite the increase in cases, national confinement is still not envisaged. But more and more Americans are staying at home. Millions of them are now unemployed.

A happy consequence of this new "American way of life", animal shelters are emptying of their dogs and cats, adopted to keep them company.

Brazil: Bolsonaro caught by the virus

President Bolsonaro is caught like his American counterpart by the virus. Brazil lacks respirators, intensive care beds, trained staff, protective equipment and diagnostic tests as the “most acute phase” of the Covid-2019 crisis approaches. The alert was launched by the Ministry of Health in a report.

Australia: investigation launched after passenger disembarking from cruise ship

Australian police have launched an investigation following the disembarkation of cruise ship passengers, including ten of the coronavirus patients who have died.

The government had authorized the landing in Sydney of the 2,700 passengers on the Ruby Princess liner, despite a measure that prohibited cruise ships from docking in Australia. These cruise passengers then returned to their homes spread across Australia.

Russia: fire near a construction site of a hospital under construction

In Moscow, a fire broke out near a construction site of a hospital under construction. Part of a tent village where workers live has been destroyed. The construction site of this hospital involves 3,200 workers. Similar to the prefabricated hospital in Wuhan, it has a capacity of 500 beds connected to breathing apparatus. It is to extend over 43 hectares and will include "operating theaters, resuscitation services". Russia has 5,389 cases of coronavirus identified and deplores 45 deaths.

China: nearly four billion masks sold to foreign countries

China announces this Sunday that it has sold nearly four billion masks to foreign countries fighting the pandemic.

Despite the decline in the number of cases on its territory, Beijing encourages factories to increase their production of medical equipment.

Since March 1, China has exported 3.86 billion masks, 37.5 million protective clothing, 16,000 respirators and 2.84 million Covid-19 detection kits to more than 50 countries. according to Jin Hai, a customs official.

Singapore: nearly 20,000 migrant workers in quarantine

Singapore has placed nearly 20,000 migrant workers in quarantine after noting the increase in the number of cases, particularly in working class residences. Singapore had managed to keep the spread under control through testing and contact tracing after infection, but the number of cases has increased dramatically in recent days to 1,309 cases (six deaths).

Iran: resumption of "low risk" economic activities

In Iran, President Hassan Rohani announced on Sunday that "low-risk" economic activities would resume on April 11. The measure will not be applied to the capital, Tehran, until April 18. The Iranian president does not say what a "low risk" activity is, but specifies that "high risk" activities - schools, universities and social, cultural, sporting and religious events - would remain suspended until at least 18 April.

The Iranian Ministry of Health has reported 4,000 deaths and 56,000 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic.

But spread has slowed for the fifth day in a row, according to official figures released on Sunday.

Iraq: the double penalty

In Iraq, the Covid-19 already officially killed 56 people and contaminated more than 800 others. It aggravates the precariousness of the Iraqis who, in addition to a total curfew, are witnessing the fall in oil prices, the only source of foreign currency in the country.

Young workers exempt from confinement in Turkey

Young workers, including seasonal farm workers, are exempt from confinement. Those under 20 have not been allowed to go out since Friday.

Turkey (83 million inhabitants) has more than 500 dead out of 24,000 confirmed cases. Among the measures taken were also the closure of schools, the interruption of international air links and the ban on rallies.

Israel: record levels of contamination in ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods

In Israel, the ultra-Orthodox Jewish quarters are causing concern by recording record rates of contamination.

Jordan: ensuring compliance with the curfew

The Jordanian authorities in turn announce that they will use drones and surveillance cameras to ensure compliance with the curfew imposed throughout the kingdom.

Lebanon: more than 20,000 Lebanese registered to be repatriated

Four flights carrying expatriates landed in Lebanon on Sunday, the first since the closure of Beirut international airport on March 18.

One flight from Riyadh, the other from Abu Dhabi. Two more flights from Lagos and Abidjan are expected. More than 20,000 Lebanese have registered to be repatriated by the end of the month.

Also back home…

More than 300 Europeans, including 139 Frenchmen arrived in France from Bolivia on board a specially chartered plane, while the Bolivian airspace is closed.

Strong audience for Télé-Lourdes

While the pilgrimage season was due to open this weekend, Lourdes is getting ready for an Easter week… without worshipers. This Easter week's celebrations will be broadcast live by TV Lourdes, whose audience has jumped since the start of the pandemic.

Our selection on SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

• Listen to Infos coronavirus , our daily chronicle on the pandemic

• Analysis - What strategies to deal with the Covid-19 epidemic?

• Practical questions:
→ What is the lifespan of the virus?
→ Who are the vulnerable people ?
→ Quarantine, what are we talking about ?
→ How do you treat Covid-19 patients?
→ How the Institut Pasteur hopes to find a vaccine

• Doctors' answers to your questions about the Covid-19

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