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The coronavirus epidemic continues to rage in France. Between Wednesday and Thursday, 4,700 new cases were identified and the toll now stands at 30,480 dead. Despite these figures, the Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer ruled out a general postponement of the start of the school year. Emmanuel Macron estimated that there were "reasonable prospects" of obtaining a vaccine against the coronavirus "in the coming months", during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
In the rest of the world, the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc and the consequences of the health crisis could be extremely serious. It could push an additional 100 million people into extreme poverty around the world, warned World Bank President David Malpass. Follow the evolution of the situation live.
The main information to remember:
- Jean-Michel Blanquer ruled out a general postponement of the start of the school year
- 4,700 new cases of coronavirus have been identified in France in 24 hours and the death toll stands at 30,480
- Globally 100 million people could fall into extreme poverty as a result of the crisis
- The coronavirus has killed more than 780,000 people worldwide
The start of the school year will take place in September, announces Blanquer
Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer has ruled out a general postponement of the start of the school year due to the rebound in Covid-19 contaminations even if "local exceptions" may be considered. "Education is not an adjustment variable, neither of our societies, nor of a health crisis," said the minister on France 2, after rejecting a postponement of the start of the school year in September demanded by some teaching unions , worried about the resurgence of the epidemic in France. "Of course, there may be local exceptions," said the minister, referring to "the scale of a school, an establishment, or even a territory".
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A vaccine "in the coming months"?
Emmanuel Macron estimated that there were "reasonable prospects" of obtaining a vaccine against the coronavirus "in the coming months", during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, from Fort Brégançon, in the south-east of France. "This will not solve the problems of the next few weeks, but the next few months," added the President of the Republic, welcoming the European coordination in vaccine research. "We have improved European cooperation on the vaccine together, by associating many other States and the Commission, to first encourage our manufacturers who are looking for a vaccine," he recalled.
In France, the number of cases continues to increase
However, in the past 24 hours, France has exceeded 4,700 new cases of coronavirus, an unprecedented increase since May, according to figures released Thursday by the Directorate General of Health (DGS). In total, 30,480 people have died in France since the start of the epidemic (i.e. 12 deaths since Wednesday), including 19,969 in hospitals and 10,511 in social and medico-social establishments (a figure which dates from Tuesday and will be updated August 25).
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Health crisis could push 100 million people into extreme poverty
The Covid-19 health crisis and its procession of destroyed jobs and supply difficulties, could lead to extreme poverty 100 million additional people around the world, warned the President of the World Bank David Malpass. The institution estimates that 70 to 100 million people could thus have to live on less than 1.90 dollars a day, and their number "could increase" if the pandemic worsens or lasts. A previous estimate was 60 million people. This situation makes it "imperative" for creditors to reduce the debt of poor countries, said David Malpass, going beyond calls to extend the moratorium on the debt of the poorest countries.
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Reconfinement in Lebanon and in some cities of Morocco
In Lebanon, faced with record rates of contamination and hospitals overwhelmed by Covid-19 patients and wounded from the gigantic explosion of August 4 at the port of Beirut, a re-containment decreed by the authorities comes into force Friday for more than two weeks.
With more than a thousand cases daily since early August, the situation is also worsening in Morocco, leading Casablanca and Marrakech, the economic and tourist capitals, to return Thursday to a form of severe confinement. King Mohamed VI expressed his concern at the "exceptional multiplication of cases of infection", calling on citizens to be more civic-minded to avoid a re-containment of the country.
Record of contaminations in Argentina, more than 250,000 dead in Latin America
Argentina recorded its highest daily number of coronavirus infections on Thursday with 8,225 new cases, the health ministry said. The high number of new cases for a single day comes three days after another opposition march through central Buenos Aires to demand the government end the lockdown measures, which protesters see as a way of restricting individual freedom . More than 6,500 people have died in the country since the start of the crisis, but this region of the world is far from being spared.
Latin America and the Caribbean indeed crossed the threshold of 250,000 deaths on Thursday, according to an AFP count established from official statistics. The region, where 620 million inhabitants live, recorded more than 6.4 million contaminations and 250,969 deaths Thursday evening. Almost six months after the onset of the epidemic in the region, Brazil, Peru and Mexico are the countries most affected.
Nearly 790,000 dead worldwide
The epidemic has killed at least 788,200 people since the end of December, according to an assessment established Thursday by AFP from official sources. The United States remains the most bereaved country with 174,178 deaths, according to a count from Johns Hopkins University. Brazil, a South American giant of 212 million inhabitants, is the second most affected country in the world with 3.5 million confirmed cases, including 45,323 new infections in the last 24 hours. The country has recorded a total of 112,304 deaths from Covid-19.