Washington (AFP)

With more than 400,000 infections, the United States continues to see the pandemic spread, in a world that is already suffering from the first symptoms of a serious economic recession.

Another tragic American record: for the second day in a row, the country recorded nearly 2,000 deaths linked to Covid-19, the worst daily toll in the world since the start of the pandemic.

And as the death toll approaches 90,000 worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) finds itself at the center of the controversy. Did she trust China too much at the start of the epidemic?

French President Emmanuel Macron defended the UN agency. In an interview with its director general, Mr. Macron "reaffirmed his confidence in the institution, which he refuses to see locked in this war between China and the United States," said the Elysee.

"Don't politicize the virus," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia.

The day before, Donald Trump accused her of having "completely screwed up" and threatened to cut off American funding.

The secretary general of the UN, Antonio Guterres, said that this was "not the time" for criticism, but that of "unity" and "solidarity to stop this virus".

- "The price of dignity" -

Daily life has been turned upside down everywhere. To date, half of humanity is in quarantine and "entire sectors of national economies have been closed" or "directly affected" by the cessation of activity, argues the World Trade Organization (WTO) .

Trade is expected to drop to "double digits" in "almost all regions" of the planet, she warned on Wednesday. The organization predicts a trade contraction "probably greater" than that caused by the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.

For the US central bank (Fed), the uncertainty linked to the pandemic poses a "serious danger to the economic outlook" of the United States, according to the minutes of its meeting in mid-March. But she then estimated that the negative effects would perhaps be less lasting than those of the 2008 crisis.

Without rapid support plans for the poorest countries, half a billion more people in the world could fall into poverty, warns NGO Oxfam in report "The Price of Dignity" .

"This could constitute a global decline of ten years in the fight against poverty, and a decline of 30 years in certain regions such as in sub-Saharan Africa, in the Middle East or in North Africa", more than half of the world's population threatened with falling below the poverty line following the pandemic, adds the organization.

"Since the beginning of this crisis, we have been sitting at home, no more money comes in," laments Mohamed Said, a 36-year-old carpenter in Cairo and father of three, lining up for a food aid distribution. .

- BoJo is getting better -

The EU is torn apart, its 27 finance ministers being unable to agree on a common economic response. Italian Economy Minister Roberto Gualtiere called for "solidarity and courageous and shared choices", but both Germany and the Netherlands refuse to pool public debts to cushion the shock.

In the United States, the Donald Trump administration has initiated new discussions with Congress to release an additional $ 250 billion to preserve jobs. The Democrats are demanding a total extension of 500 billion. President Trump said he was hopeful of seeing the "light at the end of the tunnel".

As for the projection that 100,000 to 240,000 people could die from the coronavirus in his country, Trump said he believed the United States could "do much better" and save many of these lives.

Italy remains the most bereaved country with 17,669 deaths, followed by the United States (14,695), Spain (14,555) and France (10,869, including 541 in 24 hours).

In Britain, a new ceiling of 938 dead was counted in 24 hours, for more than 7,000 in all. The health of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in intensive care for three days in a London hospital after being contaminated with Covid-19, "improves" according to his Minister of Finance.

- Premature softening -

Confinement would thus begin to bear fruit, with the effect of a reduction in hospital tension, in Spain, Italy and France.

Austria presented on Wednesday a schedule of cautious easing of restrictions, which will begin after Easter with the reopening of small businesses. Denmark and Norway, in "semi-containment", have also communicated restart dates.

But for WHO, despite some "positive signs", any relaxation is premature.

In China, on the contrary, tens of thousands of passengers rushed Wednesday at Wuhan stations, after the blockade imposed in late January in this mega-city of 11 million inhabitants from which the epidemic started, was lifted.

"I've been stuck here for 77 days! 77 days!" Exclaimed a man at the start.

The official toll of more than 3,300 deaths only is disputed in particular by the American authorities, who accuse Beijing of having undervalued it and of having thus contributed to the fact that other countries minimize the threat.

In another register, the Madagascan president Andry Rajoelina affirmed Wednesday to have learned that a herbal remedy was likely to cure the patients of the coronavirus. Only problem: he did not say which plants.

burx-iba-cn / hh

© 2020 AFP