Coronavirus: the state of the world facing the pandemic on Wednesday April 8

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The coronavirus pandemic has already caused more than 82,700 deaths worldwide. If Europe remains the most affected region, the United States has recorded more than 2,000 deaths in just 24 hours, a record. In China, the cradle of the epidemic has finally reopened, thousands of people have left the city of Wuhan after two and a half months of confinement.

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In addition to a heavy human toll, the Covid-19 crisis provokes an economic recession not seen since the Second World War. Unemployment is exploding all over the world. More than 3 billion people are affected by the total or partial closure of their workplaces. World trade should contract in 2020 between 13% and 32% in 2020, according to the World Trade Organization.

• Prolonged containment in France, Macron will speak on Monday

The confinement of the French " will be extended " beyond April 15 and Emmanuel Macron will speak on Monday April 13 shortly after 8pm to present his decisions concerning the fight against the epidemic during the coming weeks, said the Elysee. The presidency did not specify the new duration of the confinement, a subject that the head of state could address on Easter Monday, in this fourth televised address since March 12.

►Also read: Coronavirus: Africa facing the pandemic on April 8

With more than 10,869 dead, the human toll of the coronavirus epidemic is still climbing in France. Five hundred and forty-one new deaths are to be deplored in the last 24 hours, indicated this Wednesday April 8 the general director of health, Jérôme Salomon, during a daily update. This new assessment does not include new figures from nursing homes and other medical and social establishments, which could not be updated due to a " technical problem ", he said. More than 7,000 patients are still in intensive care. " An indicator that the epidemic is continuing to grow, " noted Jérôme Salomon. He estimated that " the peak remains before us ".

The disease could have affected as far as the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle , where around forty sailors carrying " compatible symptoms " are the subject of " reinforced medical observation ", according to the Ministry of the Armed Forces.

The French economy is hit hard by the Covid-19 epidemic. As of the first quarter, gross domestic product plunged by nearly 6% as a result of containment, suggesting a recession of unprecedented magnitude in France this year. The State is ready to replenish the capital of Air France and Renault in the face of the coronavirus crisis, said on Wednesday April 8 the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire. The latter was very irritated after the failure of the meeting of European finance ministers. “ Our collective responsibility now is to reach an agreement within 24 hours. Failure is unthinkable, ”he said.

• Europe divided over the economic response

The Union is not strong against the coronavirus. European finance ministers failed to agree on a common economic response to the coronavirus after a night of talks on Wednesday. "After 16 hours of discussions, we have come close to an agreement, but we are not there yet," announced its president, Mario Centeno, who called a new meeting on Thursday.

Certain European countries, more straddling budgetary austerity, like the Netherlands, are intransigent towards their partners who are calling for an ambitious recovery plan to help weakened states, such as Italy and Italy. 'Spain, to recover from the shock. Main stumbling block: the idea of ​​joint debt and the use of the Eurogroup emergency fund.

For its part, the European branch of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday that despite " positive signs " observed in some countries of the region, it was too early to reduce measures to contain the spread of the disease. new coronavirus. With more than 750,000 cases of contamination officially diagnosed, Europe totals more than half of the global balance sheet.

• Boris Johnson's condition " improves "

In the UK , Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still in intensive care. " The news is reassuring, " said his spokesman, " he breathes without assistance ." " His condition is improving, " added the Minister of Finance on Wednesday evening. British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab, who is acting , is expected to extend containment in the country which registered 938 deaths in the last 24 hours on Wednesday, a record, bringing the total toll of the pandemic to 7,097 deaths for officially 60,733 people infected.

• Encouraging signs in Italy

Italy remains the most bereaved country with 17,127 deaths for 135,586 cases. The situation has notably stabilized in Rome, with a slight drop in the number of hospital admissions. But the south of the country, still relatively spared, fears the worst if the wave were to hit a hospital system head on. In addition, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday that the ports would remain closed to humanitarian boats wishing to disembark survivor migrants.

Spain is still in second position on this macabre podium with 14,555 dead for 146,690 cases identified. Spanish health officials are concerned about a further increase in the death toll after a recent lull: 757 people died in just 24 hours on Wednesday.

In the Czech Republic , the Minister of Health said on Wednesday that his country has passed the worst and managed to stop an uncontrolled spread of the Covid-19 disease. " We can prepare for a gradual and controlled return to normal life ," said Adam Vojtech. On Wednesday, the Czech Republic registered 5,033 confirmed cases of the virus, including 181 patients cured and 91 deaths.

• New York : epicenter of the epidemic in the United States

In the United States , almost 2,000 people infected with Covid-19 have died in the past 24 hours. It is the worst daily report in the world since the start of the pandemic. The death toll continues to rise in the country as Donald Trump has threatened to suspend the U.S. contribution to the World Health Organization . The President has started further discussions with Congress to release an additional $ 250 billion to preserve jobs.

On the front line: the State and the city of New York. In the past 24 hours, 779 people have died from Covid-19 suites in city hospitals. However, the authorities are clinging to timid signs of hope: " the number of new infections is falling, " announced Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York State . The number of new hospitalizations linked to Covid-19 seems to be stabilizing, but according to Andrew Cuomo, " it is too early to say whether this is a decline in the virus or only a temporary stagnation ".

Americans are not all equal in the face of the pandemic. The industrial city of Detroit, ravaged by the 2008 economic crisis, where a third of the population lives in poverty, is strongly affected by the virus, especially the African-American population.

Despite the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States has not suspended the expulsion of irregular migrants arrested on their territory. Tuesday, April 7, 68 Haitians were returned to Port-au-Prince. An operation widely denounced both in the United States by elected members of Congress and in Haiti explains our correspondent in Port-au-Prince, Amélie Baron .

• Maduro orders hospitalization of all patients

In Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro has given orders to hospitalize all of the people infected with the new coronavirus, while ensuring that the hospital system of the country in crisis has more than 20,000 beds ready to receive them. According to its vice-president Delcy Rodriguez, 166 cases of coronavirus and seven deaths linked to the disease have been recorded in the country. Until now, people infected with coronavirus have been forced to confine themselves to their homes and the most serious cases have been taken to dispensaries, clinics and hospitals. Independent experts from the Defense Network for National Epidemiology claim, however, that the South American country of 30 million inhabitants has only 206 places in intensive care, half of which are in Caracas.

On the American continent, new countries are hit by the pandemic. Belize , the US Virgin Islands and Barbados have announced the first virus-related deaths on their soil.

• Euphoria in Wuhan

The twelve shots sounded. At midnight, the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, reopened. Tens of thousands of travelers rushed Wednesday at the bus and train stations to leave this megalopolis of 11 million inhabitants after the lifting of two and a half months of closure. The airport has started to welcome passengers again and many motorists have hit the road.

Sanitary controls, however, remain strict. Before leaving their homes, residents had to present a QR code to the authorities. A digital tracking system has also been put in place. With only two deaths counted in the last 24 hours, China sees the end of the tunnel. The country where the epidemic began at the end of December has counted a total of 81,802 cases, including 3,333 deaths and 77,279 recoveries.

Health measures are being strengthened in certain countries in Southeast Asia hitherto rather spared the pandemic. After having praised its rigor in monitoring contamination, Singapore is entering confinement, reports our correspondent in the Gabrielle Maréchaux region. In Indonesia , the authorities ended up taking measures after putting into perspective the risks of contamination in the archipelago. In the capital, Jakarta, schools are closed and many workplaces have lowered the curtain. The University of Jakarta estimates that there could be 240,000 deaths in Indonesia, where there are only 4 doctors and 12 hospital beds per 1,000 people.

• Iran seeks IMF assistance

The Middle East, with the exception of Iran, where the virus has already officially killed nearly 4,000 people, seems less affected than other areas. In total, the region is estimated to have 298 dead and nearly 22,000 people have tested positive for the virus, according to official data. With some 8,500 cases of contamination, the Arabian Peninsula is one of the most affected areas.

Human rights organizations in the Sultanate of Oman , Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday called on the three monarchies to block internet calls to allow their large population of foreign workers to stay in touch with their families in the country in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic.

In Iran , President Hassan Rohani urged the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday to grant his country an urgent loan of five billion dollars which he had requested to fight against the pandemic. “ We are a member of the IMF. If there were to be discrimination between Iran and others in the provision of credit, neither we nor the general public would tolerate this, "he said. Iranian authorities announced on Wednesday 121 additional deaths from the new coronavirus, bringing the official death toll to 3,993 in Iran. Tehran has no longer received IMF assistance since a loan from which Iran benefited between 1960 and 1962, that is, before the advent of the Islamic Republic in 1979.

• Strict confinement in Israel for Jewish Easter

In Israel , the Jewish Passover begins this Wednesday, April 8 evening. Strict confinement is imposed from Tuesday evening until Friday and a curfew has been declared, explains our Jerusalem correspondent, Guilhem Delteil . Israelis must stay at home to celebrate the "seder", the Passover Eve. The army was also deployed to Bnei Brak, a city near Tel Aviv with an ultra-Orthodox majority, where containment was imposed following record rates of contamination. In Gaza, only 13 cases have been identified.

Our selection on SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

• Listen to Coronavirus Info , daily chronicle on the pandemic

• Explanation: The origins of the Covid-19

• Analysis: What strategies in the face of 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

Find all our articles, reports, chronicles and programs on the coronavirus by clicking here .

See also our contents on containment .

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