London (AFP)

Some hope for the coronavirus epidemic is emerging in Europe, the continent with the highest number of deaths, but which could see its figures decline, while the United States expects an extremely difficult week, l confession of President Donald Trump.

The pandemic has killed at least 68,125 people worldwide since its appearance in December in China, for nearly 1,245,000 cases identified, according to a report established by AFP on Sunday evening.

One of them is British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Ten days after being tested positive, he was hospitalized on Sunday. "Precautionary measure", assured his services: he remains in command. The Conservative head of government "continues to show persistent symptoms of the coronavirus", however.

Encouraging signs appear, timidly, in Europe, where more than 70% of deaths caused by the disease have been counted, according to official sources.

In Italy, "the curve has started to descend," said the boss of the Higher Institute of Health, Silvio Brusaferro, on Sunday.

Solidarity is organized as best it can, with food passed from balcony to balcony in the poor neighborhoods of Naples.

In Spain, "the pressure is decreasing" thanks to "a certain decrease" in hospitalizations and admissions in intensive care, welcomed Maria José Sierra, of the Center of health alerts. But the country, after more than 12,000 dead, is studying "very seriously" the idea of ​​imposing the mask to leave the house.

- "Like Pearl Harbor" -

In Britain, the time was solemn enough for a rare address by Queen Elisabeth II. "We will win - and this victory will be for each of us," said the 93-year-old sovereign. "And those who will succeed us will say that the British of this generation were as strong as the others".

In the United States, where the death toll is approaching 10,000 (9,633 Sunday), the spread worries.

"In the days to come, America will endure the peak of this terrible pandemic. Our fighters in this battle for life and death are the incredible doctors, nurses and health workers on the front line," said Sunday evening President Donald Trump.

"We all know that we have to reach a certain threshold, which is going to be horrible in terms of deaths, for things to start to change. We are getting very close to that point now. And the next two weeks are going to be, I think , very difficult, "he said.

The director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, spoke of a mortality "in the process of stabilizing". But "it's going to be a bad week" and "we're having trouble controlling" the pandemic, he admitted.

Federal administrator of public health services Jerome Adams has prepared public opinion for the worst. "Next week will be a time like Pearl Harbor, like September 11, except that it will not be localized, it will be nationwide."

However, Mr. Trump has not given up on his voluntarism. "We want to get people back to work. Everyone wants to come back. We want to open the country as quickly as possible," he said.

- Lead by example -

In the epicenter, the megalopolis of New York, the health system is "under stress" lack of equipment and professionals "in sufficient number, according to the governor of the state, Andrew Cuomo.

A drop in the death toll on Sunday made him hope to be "very close to the peak", even if he "is still too early" to know.

Leaders around the world are trying to convince their fellow citizens to do everything to prevent the spread of the epidemic, and to set an example.

It was in an almost empty Saint Peter's Basilica that Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday Sunday. He will do the same for the Easter one the following Sunday.

Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf called on his subjects not to organize family reunions at Easter, stressing that "this is not going to be possible" in the midst of a pandemic. He himself will abstain, even if the country is one of the few in Europe not to confine its population.

As for the Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, he has chosen to put on his doctor's coat again once a week. According to the Irish Time, he has to assess patients' symptoms over the phone.

The most stringent measures remain in place, and the most vulnerable suffer.

Singapore, a city-state that has relentlessly tracked all cases with very large numbers of tests, has located an outbreak of the disease in residences housing migrant workers. The authorities therefore decided to place 20,000 in quarantine.

In Iraq (more than 800 dead), where the cessation of activity means misery for the precarious, "food poverty could affect nearly 50% of the population by May," according to a government official.

Finally, UN Secretary Antonio Guterres had a thought for women and girls. With confinement, "the world has experienced a horrible outbreak of domestic violence (...) Today I appeal again for peace at home, in homes, around the world".

burx-hh / ybl

© 2020 AFP