Coronavirus: the state of the world facing the pandemic on Sunday, April 26

Text by: RFI Follow

The bar of 200,000 deaths due to the new coronavirus has now passed worldwide, with 202,994 deaths recorded. That of the 3 million cases will soon be. The balance sheets are down in Europe, but breaking out of confinement is a challenge for the countries that have decided to do so.

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• France records a sharp drop in deaths over 24 hours

The coronavirus epidemic in France has killed 22,856, but the balance sheet for the past 24 hours is down sharply, with 242 new deaths, against 369 on the previous day, announces the Directorate General of Health (DGS).

Emmanuel Macron faces an outcry before the presentation of the deconfinement strategy . The leader of deputies La France rebellious Jean-Luc Mélenchon denounces "  the imposture  " and "  the unbearable method  " of the government and asks "  more time to evaluate the measures of the plan  " which will be presented Tuesday before the Assembly. The government should have managed  the crisis more "  collectively ", said meanwhile, environmental leader Yannick Jadot.

Two hundred and forty-three Moldovans returning from Paris by coach have been stranded since this Sunday morning on a motorway service area in eastern France. Germany and the Czech Republic refuse them passage because of the epidemic.

• Fewer deaths in Italy, encouraging signs in the UK

The Italy recorded 260 extra deaths in the last 24 hours, which is the lowest figure since March 14. The number of people infected increased, after six consecutive days of decline. It reached 106,103, or 256 more than yesterday. In an interview published by the daily La Repubblica, the head of government Giuseppe Conte promises to reopen schools in September so as not to "jeopardize  the health of children  ". He says the factories will reopen on May 4.

The United Kingdom is seeing "  encouraging signs  " with a sharp drop in the number of deaths, on the eve of the return of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. After a month of confinement, the head of government is awaited on his strategy, torn between calls to restart the economic machine and the fear of a relaxation which would wipe out the benefit of the sacrifices hitherto made. With 20,732 deaths in hospitals, the United Kingdom is one of the most severely affected countries in Europe. 

• Streets full of children in Spain

In Spain this morning, almost 6 million children under the age of 14 can leave their homes after six weeks of confinement. These walks are very framed by law: one hour maximum within a radius of one kilometer around the home. Some however express their fear that this relaxation will cause a return of the peak of contagion in the country. Spain, the third most affected country in the world with 23,190 deaths, had to adopt one of the strictest containment regimes.

In the Netherlands , authorities close two mink farms in the south of the country after the discovery of animals tested positive, probably infected after contact with humans. The farms are located east of Eindhoven in North Brabant, one of the regions hardest hit by the epidemic, where the disease killed more than 4,400 people and infected at least 37,000 people.

In Germany , the Interior Ministry reveals that Chinese diplomats approached German government officials to incite them to express positive opinions on Beijing's management of the epidemic. The Chinese Embassy in Berlin calls the information "  untrue and irresponsible  ."

In Russia , the Ministry of Agriculture announces that it will suspend exports of several varieties of cereals (wheat, rye, barley and corn) until July 1 to ensure the stability of the national market.

• In China, the seizure of 89 million non-compliant masks

The city of Wuhan, where the pandemic started, announces that there are no more people with Covid-19 in its hospitals. China claims to have seized 89 million non-compliant masks as the country strives to allay fears about the quality of the medical equipment exported.

The masks are the subject of intense traffic. In France, the police carried out a record seizure of 140,000 masks in a suburb of Paris, where two men were storing their illegal cargo from the Netherlands.

• Donald Trump tired of " hostile issues "

Donald Trump tweeted last night that he did not see the point of press briefings , saying that the journalists only ask "  hostile questions  " and continue "  to spread false information  ". According to the New York Times , Donald Trump would be frustrated by the treatment and criticism of the past few days, realizing that his shattering outings could cost him dearly in electoral terms.

In Canada , health authorities warn against the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine drugs which can "  cause serious side effects and should only be used under the supervision of a doctor  ", warns the country's public health agency .

• Domestic violence in Iraq

In Iraq , the pandemic is accompanied by an increase in domestic violence. According to the UN, 46% of married women say they have been victims. Perpetrators of violence generally have the right with them, since article 41 of the Iraqi Penal Code gives the husband the legal right to "  punish  " his wife and children "  within the limits of law and custom  " and provides as in other countries in the region have reduced sentences for so-called “honor crimes”.

In Israel , the Minister of Health criticized for his management of the pandemic announces that he wants to leave his post and claims the Housing portfolio, during the formation of the new government. Palestinian Amir Naji, released from an Israeli prison and quarantined at a hotel in Ramallah, kissed his mother, although this is not recommended. Faced with the pandemic, the Israeli authorities have introduced a battery of measures to prevent the spread in prisons, where more than 5,000 Palestinians are held.

• The baccalaureate maintained in Syria

In Syria , the government indicates that four million students will not resume classes by the summer and will go directly to the upper class. The patent and baccalaureate exams, however, are maintained for more than 557,000 students. The number of examination centers will be multiplied to guarantee "  distance  ", specifies the official Sana agency.

In Egypt , Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli announces that his government has started negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to obtain one-year financial assistance to face the recession caused by the pandemic. In 2019, tourism, just recovering from several years of instability, alone brought nearly $ 12.9 billion to the Egyptian economy. The sector is totally damaged today.

The Saudi Arabia softens total exit ban put in place to contain the spread of the virus. It will now be possible, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., to go to shopping centers and retail stores, authorized to reopen in all regions of the kingdom until May 13. But a total 24-hour curfew will be maintained in some areas, including Mecca, which has had the highest number of infections in the kingdom in recent days. The latest report from the Saudi Ministry of Health lists 136 deaths from the disease, while confirmed infections increased to 16,299. Saudi Arabia is the most affected Arab country in the Gulf, but authorities have not not yet announced if the hajj will take place at the end of July.

Separatists in southern Yemen proclaim autonomy after the peace deal with the government collapsed. A decision that further complicates the conflict that has raged in the country for years, the scene of a serious humanitarian crisis.

• Happy dolphins and footballers denied matches

In Turkey , in Istanbul, confinement brought dolphins back to the Bosphorus Strait where the scarcity of boats brings an unusual calm. The Turkish megalopolis of 16 million inhabitants has been under confinement since Thursday and until midnight Sunday, after two previous weekends when Istanbul was already stopped by order of the government. The epidemic has killed more than 2,700 people in Turkey.

The Tajikistan announces the suspension of football matches in the country. They take place this Sunday, but for the last time until May 10 at least. Tajikistan, officially spared from the coronavirus, was one of the few countries in the world where the football season was maintained. In Europe, only Belarus continues its championship.

• Sports stars on social media

While the competitions are interrupted, sports stars multiply their appearances on social networks to the delight of fans, happy to discover some hidden facets of their idols. Footballer Karim Benzema is one of the most followed French personalities in the world with 33.6 million subscribers on his Instagram account where he reveals a "frank talk" as natural as confusing. For Boris Helleu, lecturer at the University of Caen, "  many footballers aim to take the opposite view of the wrong image of the guy just good at kicking a ball, by showing that they have a personality, humor, opinion  ”.

Guy Drut, French member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) considers the Paris-2024 project "  today obsolete, outdated, out of touch with reality  " and calls for "  reinventing the model of the Olympic Games  ". If, in the midst of a pandemic, the rescheduling of the Olympic Games-2020 to the summer of 2021 was necessary, “can  the response to this crisis be expressed by the only postponement of dates, without the Games model also being deeply rethought?  " Guy Drut mentioned two lines of thought intended to contain the costs of the Olympic Games: "  sanctuarize certain events on a single site regardless of the organizing country, for example Tahiti or Hawaii for surfing, and limit the number of additional sports  ".

Our selection on SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

• Listen to Coronavirus Info , daily chronicle on the pandemic

• Explanation:  The origins of the Covid-19

• Analyzes:
→  What strategies to face the epidemic ?
→  A vaccine, the only solution to stem the pandemic?
→  What impact on conflict zones?

• Practical questions:
→  What is known about the mode of contagion
→  What results for ongoing clinical trials?
→  How to make a mask and use it well

Find all our articles, reports, chronicles and programs on the coronavirus by clicking here .

See also the files of RFI Savoirs  on the Covid-19:
•  Birth of a pandemic
•  Everyday life put to the test
•  The history of epidemics
•  The science facing the Covid-19
•  The geopolitical consequences

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