London (AFP)

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to cause uncertainty and concern around the world as the UK experiences an unprecedented recession and the WHO is eager to analyze clinical trials of a Russian vaccine.

The UK economy suffered a "record" drop of 20.4% in the second quarter of its economy and, in the first six months of the year, its worst recession on record.

The United Kingdom posted the worst performance in the second quarter in Europe, ahead of Spain (-18.5%) and much worse than France (-13.8%).

London also changed its method for counting deaths from the epidemic on Wednesday, now only taking into account those occurring within 28 days of a positive test.

This method offers a lower toll of 5,300 deaths compared to the previous toll for this country which remains at the top of the deaths in Europe with 41,329 killed, according to the new count.

As the frantic race to find a vaccine for the coronavirus accelerates from Moscow to Washington to Washington, DC, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday it was anxiously awaiting analysis of the results of the coronavirus. Russian clinical trials of the virus vaccine.

"WHO is in contact with Russian scientists and authorities and looks forward to studying the details of clinical trials," the Geneva-based organization said in a statement.

For their part, Argentina and Mexico will take charge of the production and distribution in Latin America, except in Brazil, of the future vaccine against the coronavirus jointly developed by the laboratory AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, announced Wednesday. Argentine President Alberto Fernandez.

- No smoking -

In Europe, new health measures have been taken.

Germany added Bucharest and several regions of Romania to its list of areas considered to be at high risk of contamination with Covid-19 on Wednesday, forcing its Minister of Labor to cancel a visit to the Romanian capital.

On the economic front, the German government announced on Wednesday the granting of new public aid of 1.2 billion euros to the world number 1 in tourism TUI, in order to ensure the "maintenance of jobs" of the group in the country.

In Spain, the province of Galicia (north-west) will from Thursday ban smoking in the streets and on café terraces if it is not possible to respect a safety distance of at least two meters between people.

This measure, unprecedented in Spain, which has 28,579 deaths, aims to try to curb the transmission of the virus.

Turkey, for its part, has resolved to delay the start of the school year for schools and universities by one month, the number of cases of coronavirus contamination recorded every day being over 1,000.

"Schools will reopen with distance education on August 31," Education Minister Ziya Selcuk told reporters in Ankara.

According to him, we can hope for a gradual return to classes from September 21.

- Sunday confinement -

In Latin America, Sunday confinement will be re-imposed in Peru, the third most affected country in the region after Brazil and Mexico, while in Argentina, the number of deaths surpassed the 5,000 mark on Wednesday.

In Brazil, the second most affected country in the world with 103,000 deaths, Joao Doria, the governor of Sao Paulo, announced Wednesday to be positive for Covid-19 and to continue to carry out his duties in quarantine.

In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was reflecting on Wednesday on a possible postponement of the September 19 elections due to the resurgence, still modest, of the epidemic in her country.

New Zealand has so far been set up as an example of good management of the health crisis after recording 102 days without any local contamination.

In total, according to the latest report drawn up by AFP on Wednesday at 11 a.m. GMT, the coronavirus epidemic has killed at least 743,199 people worldwide and infected more than 20 million people since its appearance in December.

The United States is the most affected country in terms of both deaths and cases, with 164,545 deaths for 5,141,879 cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University count.

- Marathon canceled -

In France, over the past 24 hours, the number of people diagnosed positive for the virus has increased by 1,397 new cases.

"I say it with a form of gravity: if we do not react collectively, we expose ourselves to a high risk of epidemic resumption which will be difficult to control," French Prime Minister Jean Castex warned on Tuesday.

On the sporting level, the events know various fortunes. If the London marathon is resisting with a race reserved for elite athletes on October 4, the Paris marathon was canceled on Wednesday, like those in New York, Berlin, Boston, Frankfurt, and Chicago. , among the most prestigious on the world circuit.

burs / mp / ybl / rle / lpt / vmt / ybl

© 2020 AFP