Paris (AFP)

New reports, new measures and highlights: an update on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic around the world.

- Record of cases in 24 hours in the United States -

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.

- "Exponential" increase in "too many countries" -

The northern hemisphere is at a "critical moment" in the pandemic, WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Friday.

"Too many countries are seeing an exponential increase in Covid-19 cases and this is now leading to hospitals and intensive care units being close or having exceeded their capacity limits and we are only in October" , he added.

- Two vaccine trials resume in the USA -

Two trials of experimental vaccines against Covid-19 will be able to resume in the United States after apparent false alarms.

One, developed by the British University of Oxford and the AstraZeneca group, has already resumed in the United States, after more than six weeks of interruption in the country.

And the other, led by Johnson & Johnson, is expected to do so soon, after the green light from the independent committee that assessed the case of an unexplained illness that occurred in a participant in October.

- EU: "serious concern" -

The development of the epidemic is now causing "serious concern" in 23 countries of the European Union, as well as in the United Kingdom, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

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

Across the continent, the number of cases exceeds 8.2 million and more than 258,000 people have died from Covid-19.

- Reconfinement -

In the United Kingdom, Wales (more than three million inhabitants) has reconfigured from 6 p.m. Friday until November 9.

Non-essential businesses are closed.

In England, half of the population, some 29 million inhabitants, now lives under more or less strict local restrictions.

The Polish prime minister announced that the whole country would pass into a "red zone" on Saturday, with partial closures of primary schools and restaurants.

- Curfews -

Faced with the multiplication of cases in France, the government has extended the night curfew (9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.), which since Friday midnight has concerned 46 million people in Paris and in the main cities, or two-thirds of the population.

Luxembourg has decided to introduce a curfew between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. and to limit gatherings to a maximum of four people in the face of the rebound in contamination.

In Italy, Lazio, the region of Rome, becomes the third in the country, along with Lombardy and Campania, to establish a curfew.

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

- Extended restrictions in Argentina -

President Alberto Fernandez announced on Friday the extension for two weeks of the restriction measures introduced in March in Argentina to fight against the progression of Covid-19 contamination.

They particularly affect the movement of the population, public transport, mass performances and social gatherings in closed spaces.

- More than 41.7 million cases -

The pandemic has killed at least 1,139,406 worldwide since the WHO office in China reported the onset of the disease at the end of December, according to an assessment compiled by AFP from official sources on Friday. in the middle of the day.

More than 41.7 million cases 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).

- Biden promises free vaccine "for all" -

Democratic candidate Joe Biden on Friday pledged the coronavirus vaccine would be "free for everyone" as part of his national pandemic plan, if elected as President of the United States.

burs-acm / mw / stb / fby / ybl

© 2020 AFP