In the spotlight: the Covid-19, again and again

Audio 04:55

Russia recorded a record 1,036 Covid-19-related deaths in a single day, but authorities fear the worst is yet to come.

© Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

By: Sébastien Duhamel Follow

5 mins

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Covid-19 remains the common denominator of kiosks and the internet around the world.

We don't talk about it every day in our review, of course, but the newspapers do.

And the wheel is turning, to say the least with this pandemic, there are ups and downs.

Starting with this sad record in Ukraine, where Covid " 

is spreading like wildfire

 ", the

Kyiv Post

tells us

.

To understand how the coronavirus remains present in Ukrainian news, it is enough simply to see this counter still on the front page of the website.

In red letters and numbers, it indicates day after day the number of cases and deaths recorded.

Concern shared in many countries

The

Podrovnosti

site

for its part evokes " 

frightening incidence rates

 ", more than 23,700 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours and 614 deaths. Figures even higher " 

than at the height of the second wave

 " in the country last April, warns the

Kyiv Post

. The capital is also preparing to be placed in a " 

red quarantine zone

 ". Hear: maximum alert level and strongest restrictions, to which five other regions of the country are already subject.

The

Ukrayinska Pravda

observed meanwhile the Russian situation, with what the Ukrainian newspaper called the " 

new anti-records

 ," more than 37 000 cases and 1000 deaths announced by Moscow for Thursday 21 October. To a lesser extent, in Belgium, again more than 1,000 hospitalized patients, it is " 

a first since the beginning of June

 ", explains the daily

Le Soir

. He speaks of a “ 

fourth wave that vaccination must tame

 ”. And this time, " 

impossible to take refuge behind the argument of the number of tests

 " because Belgium " 

does not test more today than during the third wave

 ". No, " 

it is indeed the transmission of the virus which has resumed service,

 ”analyzes

Le Soir

.

Concern also across the Atlantic on the front page of

USA Today

, which shares " 

the fears of a deadly winter

 " for children.

They " 

fill the hospitals

 ".

Across the United States, doctors see no end to the increase in the number of young and very sick patients,

 " laments the American daily.

Vaccination also in the news

Still in the United States, the

Washington Post

tells us that the CDC (Center for the Prevention and Control of Diseases) approved this Thursday, October 21, the booster injections with the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, a month after the have done for the Pfizer vaccine. " 

A resounding victory for the Biden administration

 ," which has promised booster shots for all adults, said the

New York Times

. In Britain, the third dose precisely interests the newspapers, because the recall " 

could be advanced

 " for millions of people, reports 

The

Guardian

. To avoid imposing new restrictions, the government is studying the possibility of a recall five months after the first injection, instead of six. While a recall with the Pfizer product “ 

offers almost total protection

 ,” “ 

almost 100

%,

 ” according to the

Times.

A vaccination campaign that leaps and is now the pride of India.

We remember too well the ordeal that the country endured not to mention this " 

historic step in the war against Covid

 ", as

The Pioneer

presents it

.

Because " 

India is now a billionaire in vaccines

 ", welcomes

The Times of India

.

India which " 

wrote a page of history this Thursday by crossing

, underlines 

The Hindu

,

the milestone of one billion doses of vaccine against Covid-19 administered, and this, only nine months after the launch of the vaccination program

 " .

A much watched European summit

History and the European press are watching them too: the European heads of state and government met on Thursday at a summit. Object of all attention of course: the quarrel with Poland, accused of violating the rule of law and calling into question the unity of Union law. However, in this case, " 

Brussels is lowering the tension to avoid the shock

 " analyzes

El Mundo

 in Spain. " 

Avoid the circus, public fights, do not fall into a toxic spiral ...

This slogan, launched over and over again in recent weeks from the office of the President of the European Council, was very clear

, tells us the newspaper,

the leaders Continental followed it almost to the letter.

 "

And among them, Angela Merkel of course.

It was probably his last summit, recalls the

Financial Times

which noted " 

a calm presence

 ".

Indeed, the German Chancellor " 

sought moderation

 " by advocating dialogue, reports the British daily.

A position dear to Germany, as we know, and a typical position of " 

builder of bridges

 ", estimates the

Financial

, that which Angela Merkel has maintained for 16 years within the Union.

So much so that the newspaper wonders who “ 

will be the chief mediator when she leaves the political scene

 ”.

A vestige of history discovered in Israel

To read in the

Jerusalem Post

, the discovery of a ring, a seal of amethyst 2000 years old and which represents a rare biblical tree. “ 

A small lilac-colored stone, on which are carved a bird and a branch with five fruits. It had fallen into Jerusalem's main drainage channel during the Second Temple era.

 Some 2,000 years later, therefore, it was found by volunteers during an archaeological excavation in the region. After examining it, experts discovered another surprise, the article explains: " 

This is probably the very first known depiction of a plant mentioned in the Bible

 ." Known as the " 

balm of Gilead

 ", this plant, " 

whose modern scientific name is

commiphora gileadensis ”, was used to produce perfumes, incense and medicines.

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