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The Covid-19 does not take a vacation. The virus, which has already killed 30,265 people in France, continues to circulate in the territory, to the point that the wearing of a mask will be made compulsory in public spaces in the metropolis of Lille and in Mayenne from tomorrow. Tests are now compulsory for tourists who come from around fifteen countries. Globally, the coronavirus spares no continent, and the number of cases in South Africa has passed the 500,000 mark. Follow the evolution of the situation live.
The main information to remember:
- From tomorrow, wearing a mask will be made compulsory outdoors in several cities
- The World Health Organization has warned that the coronavirus pandemic is likely to be "very long"
- More than 500,000 cases have been recorded in South Africa, or half of the cases on the African continent.
Masks will soon be compulsory in Mayenne and the metropolis of Lille ...
Several new outbreaks have been identified this week in the department of Mayenne in western France where the mask will be made compulsory from Monday in public places in 69 municipalities. This measure will also come into force in many areas of the metropolis of Lille, announced the prefect of the North on Friday. But on the spot, this measure is not unanimous: with the hot weather, some consider it impossible to wear a mask outside.
Some doctors would like to see more tests. Invited from Europe 1, Doctor Benjamin Davido, infectious disease specialist at Raymond Poincaré hospital in Garches in Hauts-de-Seine, called for ever more vigilance but above all invoked the need to continue testing to break the chains of transmission. "We must go and test where the people are, on the edges of the beaches," he pleaded.
... and tests at airports
While the virus continues to circulate according to the latest report from the Directorate General of Health published Friday evening (which reports 30,265 dead), France is increasing the measures to ensure health security. Passengers arriving from sixteen countries "at risk" in Paris airports must present "proof of the result of a biological virological screening carried out less than 72 hours before the flight" or failing that, be tested at the airport . Belgium, on Saturday, banned "non-essential trips" to the Spanish regions of Navarre, Aragon, Barcelona and Lérida in Catalonia, the Lake Geneva region in Switzerland (Vaud, Valais, Geneva) and the French department of Mayenne.
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Historic recessions in Europe
At the weekend, several countries released their growth figures for the second quarter of 2019. And these reflect historic recessions. France experienced in the spring the largest decline in its activity since at least 1949 because of the coronavirus, with a plunge in gross domestic product (GDP) of 13.8% in the second quarter. Spain saw its GDP collapse by 18.5% in the second quarter, Portugal by 14.1% and Italy by 12.4%. As a whole, the euro zone recorded a historic decline of 12.1% of GDP during the same period.
The pandemic will probably be "very long", warns WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO), meeting Saturday in Geneva, warned that the coronavirus pandemic was probably going to be "very long". "The WHO continues to estimate that the risk posed by Covid-19 is very high," the statement continued, which underlines the importance "of a response which must be national, regional and global" to the pandemic.
>> PODCAST - Coronavirus: find all the answers to your questions here
The virus seems out of control in the United States, 500,000 cases in South Africa
South Africa, the country on the African continent most affected by the new coronavirus, has officially identified more than 500,000 cases of Covid-19, the Minister of Health announced on Saturday. South Africa is the fifth country in the world most affected by the pandemic in terms of confirmed cases. On its own, it has recorded more than half of the cases of the new coronavirus on the African continent. The official death toll has exceeded 8,150, but it is vastly underestimated, experts have warned. Across the Atlantic, the virus appears to be out of control in the United States: the country recorded more than 60,000 new cases of coronavirus for the fifth day in a row Saturday.
The pandemic has killed more than 680,000 people worldwide since the onset of the disease at the end of 2019 in China, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Saturday. More than 17.6 million cases of contamination have been officially diagnosed in 196 countries and territories. The United States is the most heavily affected country with 154,320 dead, followed by Brazil (92,475), Mexico (47,470), the United Kingdom (46,120) and India (36,510).