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Between hope and fears, France continues Thursday preparations for deconfinement, a first cautious phase of which must take place from May 11. And while the human toll of the coronavirus epidemic further increased on Wednesday evening, with more than 24,000 dead, the economic and social toll of the crisis continues to worsen, with now 11.3 million workers unemployed partial and entire sectors worried about a very partial recovery, like tourism. Follow the situation live.
The main information to remember
- 24,087 people died in France, but the decline in the number of intensive care patients continues
- 11.3 million French people are partially unemployed
- Tourism season will be "unlike any other", the government has warned
- Ligue 1 to formalize the end of the season today
- Over 130,000 deaths in Europe, according to AFP
New increase in death toll and decrease in resuscitation
The coronavirus has killed an additional 427 patients in France in the past 24 hours. But the decline has been confirmed for three weeks in the intensive care unit with 180 fewer patients on Wednesday. The total assessment of the epidemic now stands at 24,087 dead since March 1, including 15,053 in hospitals (+243) and 9,034 in social and medico-social establishments including nursing homes (+184).
With "1,070 new admissions in hospitals, the discharges are more numerous than the admissions and the balance is negative of 650 patients of the Covid in less than yesterday" insists the General direction of health. 26,834 Covid-19 patients are hospitalized, including 7,303 patients in intensive care.
The Mayor calls on the French to "roll up their sleeves"
"We have to roll up our sleeves all together" said Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire heard at the National Assembly. He called on a "maximum of French" to return to work from May 11, while 11.3 million workers are on short-time work.
Towards a dark year for tourism
2020, annus horribilis of tourism? It is an obsession that becomes clearer over the days. Wednesday evening, the Secretary of State for Tourism Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne indicated that the summer will not be "like the others" for the sector, with limited trips and absent foreign visitors. "We are not going to die from the coronavirus but we are going to die economically, this is no better…", worried tourism professionals from the Côte d'Azur to Europe 1.
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Ligue 1 to mark the end of the season
Professional sport is at a standstill and this should continue until the summer. Today, the Professional Football League meets its Board of Directors to presumably end the 2019-2020th season in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. But nothing is settled: it will now be necessary that the clubs and the LFP agree on how to close the championship, in a context of growing threat to many teams.
Conflicting results on remdesivir
The American laboratory Gilead announced Wednesday that remdesivir, one of its drugs had shown "positive" results in patients. The experimental drug accelerated recovery time for Covid-19 patients by 31% in this clinical trial, according to preliminary results released on Wednesday.
Compared to patients who received a placebo, patients treated with remdesivir, a molecule from the Gilead laboratory, healed in 11 days (median time) instead of 15 days, according to an NIH press release. However, a Chinese study published by the medical journal Lancet estimates that Gilead's remdesivir has "no significant clinical benefit" against Covid-19.
Over 220,000 dead worldwide
The pandemic of the new coronavirus has killed at least 224,402 people worldwide since its appearance in December in China, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Wednesday evening. Over 3,141,250 cases have been diagnosed in 193 countries and territories.
The United States is the most affected country in terms of number of deaths and cases, with 59,446 deaths for 1,028,217 recorded cases. Italy follows with 27,682 dead, the United Kingdom (26,097 dead), Spain (24,275) and France with (24,087).