Coronavirus: Kamala Harris and Mike Pence clash over crisis management

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With less than a month before the US presidential election, the debate between running mates Kamala Harris and Mike Pence was expected in the United States.

The Democrat and the Republican clashed in the night from Wednesday to Thursday on the management of the Covid-19 which dominates the electoral campaign: more than 200,000 people have died since the start of the crisis in their country.

In France, 18,746 cases of coronavirus were identified between Tuesday and Wednesday.

This is a new absolute record, according to the daily figures of the epidemic published by Public Health France.

Thus, new measures could be announced.

"We must move towards more restrictions where the virus circulates too quickly," warned Emmanuel Macron. 

The main information to remember 

:

• In a courteous debate, Kamala Harris and Mike Pence clashed over the coronavirus, less than a month away from the US presidential election

• In France, Emmanuel Macron felt that additional "restrictions" should be considered in areas of intense circulation of the virus

• In Belgium and Italy, new measures are taken to fight the pandemic

• Traffic is intense around the globe: six million cases have been detected in Europe, five million in Brazil

In the United States, the coronavirus drives the Harris-Pence debate

Democratic White House candidate Joe Biden's running mate Kamala Harris denounced the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic as "the biggest failure" in US history, opening debate against vice -President Mike Pence.

"Americans have witnessed what is the biggest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country," said the Democratic senator during her first and only debate against Donald Trump's right-hand man.

US Vice President Mike Pence accused his rival of "undermining the confidence" of Americans in a future vaccine by casting doubts on the credibility of Donald Trump's words.

“The fact that you continue to undermine people's confidence in a vaccine, if the vaccine comes during the Trump administration, is outrageous,” he said.

Pence praises the “transparency” of Trump's doctor about his state of health.

But today it is still not known if and when he tested negative for #coronavirus in recent days and the doctor's confused communication raises questions about this “transparency” #VPDebate

- Sonia Dridi (@Sonia_Dridi) October 8, 2020

Poverty on the rise as a result of the pandemic

The pandemic will push into extreme poverty between 88 and 115 million more people in the world this year, announced the World Bank, stressing that more and more city dwellers are concerned.

This is the first time in more than twenty years that the global rate of extreme poverty will increase, underlines the Washington institution.

In France, a million French people have fallen into poverty. 

At the same time, another study says billionaires have seen their fortunes reach new heights thanks to the sharp rebound in financial markets that have benefited tech and health giants.

At the end of July, the cumulative fortune of billionaires was around $ 10.2 trillion, exceeding the previous peak of 2017 when it peaked at $ 8.9 trillion.

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Need "more restrictions" where virus circulates too fast, says Macron

Emmanuel Macron estimated in an interview Wednesday on TF1 and France 2 that additional "restrictions" should be considered in areas of intense circulation of the virus.

"In places where things circulate too quickly, in particular where it circulates a lot among the elderly, and where we see more and more beds occupied in emergencies, we must move towards more restrictions, like the one we could have known for example in the Bouches-du-Rhône or in Paris and the inner suburbs "

More than 18,000 new cases in 24 hours in France

Because the situation remains alarming.

More than 18,000 new cases of Covid-19 have been detected in France in the past 24 hours, according to Public Health France.

32,445 people have died since the start of the epidemic, including 80 since the last tally.

There are now 4,625 new hospitalizations over the last seven days, including 919 in intensive care.

In addition, the test positivity rate is now 9.1%, up 0.1% since Tuesday evening. 

>> READ ALSO -

 How are other European countries reacting to the upsurge in the coronavirus?

Mask compulsory in Italy, bars close in Brussels on Thursday

On the other side of the Alps, the Italian government announced on Wednesday that it was making the wearing of a mask outdoors compulsory, the recalcitrant exposing themselves to a fine of up to 1,000 euros.

An announcement that comes as the country extends its state of emergency until January 31, in order to fight against the resurgence of the epidemic.

In Belgium, cafes and bars close from Thursday morning throughout the territory of the Brussels region to stem the spread of the coronavirus, which is accelerating in the capital.

Increase in contamination in Europe

These restrictions are directly linked to the increase in the number of cases on the old continent.

The threshold of six million patients identified in Europe was reached Wednesday afternoon, according to a count carried out by AFP.

Over the past seven days, nearly 550,000 new cases have been detected in the region, 26% more from the previous week. 

More than five million cases in Brazil

The largest country in Latin America has crossed the threshold of five million people infected since the start of the pandemic and is approaching 150,000 deaths, while it records a decline in the pandemic.

The third most affected country, Brazil recorded 31,553 new cases in 24 hours, as well as 734 deaths, bringing the total to 148,228 deaths.

The United States remains the most affected country with 211,694 dead, ahead of Brazil and India (104,555 dead).

As of December 2019, nearly 35.9 million cases of infection in total have been diagnosed, with at least one million deaths.