LIVE - Coronavirus: more than 16,000 new cases in France

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The health situation is not improving in France.

Indicators of the coronavirus epidemic, on the contrary, continued to deteriorate on Sunday, with an increase in the number of patients in intensive care and more than 16,000 new positive cases.

The authorities have therefore decided in particular to add the cities of Toulouse and Montpellier to the list of municipalities placed in the maximum alert zone.

New restrictions were also announced on the other side of the Pyrenees, in Catalonia and Navarre.

Follow the evolution of the situation live. 

The main information to remember: 

• Indicators of the epidemic in France continue to deteriorate

• Toulouse and Montpellier will move into maximum alert zone

• More than 37 million cases have been recorded around the world 

More than 16,000 new cases in France

The indicators of the epidemic have deteriorated further in 24 hours in France, with a further increase in hospitalizations in intensive care and more than 16,000 new positive cases, according to figures released Sunday by Public Health France.

A total of 1,483 people are currently in intensive care in the country, 27 more than the day before - again a record since May.

On the other hand, new admissions to intensive care are down slightly, with 73 patients admitted on Sunday, 37 less than the day before.

Hospital stays continue their continuous increase (8,231, +255 compared to the previous day).

In addition, 16,101 new cases of contamination have been detected in the last 24 hours.

In the past 24 hours, 46 people have died from Covid, bringing the total of deaths since the start of the epidemic to at least 32,730.

Toulouse and Montpellier go on high alert

After Paris, Aix-Marseille, Guadeloupe, then Lyon, Grenoble, Saint-Etienne and Lille, Toulouse and Montpellier will in turn spend Tuesday in the maximum alert zone, the prefectures concerned announced on Sunday.

In Hérault, the 31 municipalities of the Montpellier metropolis are also on maximum alert as well as seven adjoining municipalities, announced the prefecture.

The maximum alert zone is reached when the incidence rate in the general population exceeds 250 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the last seven days, when it exceeds 100 in those over 65, and if the occupancy rate of beds in intensive care units by Covid-19 patients reached 30% in the region.

It involves in particular the closure of bars and sports halls, a reinforced protocol in restaurants or even reduced gauges in university amphitheatres and shopping centers.

In Aix-Marseille, all these measures are renewed for 15 additional days (until October 27), announced the prefect of Bouches-du-Rhône on Sunday evening. 

New restrictions in Catalonia and Navarre

Two Spanish regions bordering France, Catalonia and Navarre, announced on Sunday that they were tightening their restrictions in an attempt to curb an increase in contaminations.

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From Tuesday, meetings will be limited to six people in Navarre, while bars and restaurants will have to close at 10 p.m.

Cinemas, theaters and bookstores will have to reduce their attendance to 30% and supermarkets to 40%.

In Catalonia, the authorities have called on companies to encourage teleworking and universities to avoid face-to-face lessons.

Back in campaign, Trump claims to be "immune"

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he was now "immune" to Covid-19, the day after his doctor issued a brief letter stating that he was no longer at risk of transmitting the virus.

"It looks like I'm immune, for, I don't know, maybe a long time, maybe a short time, maybe for life. Nobody really knows but I'm immune," he said. he said in a telephone interview on Fox News.

"You have a president who is immune (...). Today you have a president who does not need to hide in his basement like his opponent", he added, referring to the candidate Democrat Joe Biden.

But a great opacity surrounds the President of the United States.

His medical team stubbornly refuses to say when was his last negative test.

This posture is fueling suspicions that the president may not have taken a test for several days before his positive test on October 1.

China is tracking down an entire metropolis 

China was carrying out a massive screening campaign on Monday in the metropolis of Qingdao (9 million inhabitants), after the discovery of six cases, health authorities said.

The Asian country, where the new coronavirus appeared at the end of 2019, has for several months contained the epidemic on its soil thanks to strict controls, the wearing of generalized masks, containment measures and tracing applications.

According to local health authorities, all of the infected people seem to have a connection with a hospital in the city that treats Covid-19 patients.

But the focus of infection is not yet known.

The discovery resulted in the screening of some 143,000 people to try to identify contact cases.

The town hall announced a massive screening campaign in five districts of Qingdao "within three days" and the entire city "within five days". 

Over 37 million cases worldwide

The pandemic has killed at least 1,074,055 people around the world since the end of December, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Sunday at 11:00 GMT.

In total, more than 37.2 million cases of infection have been officially diagnosed, of which at least 25,763,900 have been cured.

After the United States, the most bereaved country in the world with 214,765 dead, follow Brazil (150,488), India (108,334), Mexico (83,507) and the United Kingdom (42,679).