Paris (AFP)

New assessments, new measures, highlights: an update on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic, which killed more than 206,000 people on the planet.

- More than 206,000 dead -

The pandemic has killed at least 206,670 people worldwide since its appearance in December in China, according to an assessment established by AFP from official sources Monday at 1:00 p.m. GMT.

Over 2.9 million cases have been diagnosed in 193 countries and territories.

The United States is the most bereaved country, with 54,877 deaths. This is followed by Italy (26,644) deaths, Spain (23,521), France (22,856) and the United Kingdom (20,732), which does not yet count deaths in retirement homes.

As a proportion of the population, excluding micro-states, mortality is highest in Belgium (622 deaths per million inhabitants), ahead of Spain (503), Italy (441) and France (350). The United States (166) comes far behind.

- Boris Johnson positive, but careful -

The pandemic curve is "starting to reverse" in the UK but the British must continue to comply with containment measures to avoid an upsurge, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Monday in his first speech since his recovery from Covid-19.

Confined since March 23, the British will remain so at least until May 7.

- Norway: schoolchildren at school -

Norway, where the pandemic is receding, reopened schools on Monday for children aged six to ten, a new step in very slow and gradual normalization that worries some parents.

- France: controversy over the role of the Assembly -

Despite the protests, the vote on the deconfinement plan, scheduled for from May 11 in France, will take place in the wake of its presentation by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe Tuesday at the National Assembly.

The opposition, but also some members of the majority, protested against the lack of time between the presentation of the measures and the vote, seeing it as "a denial of democracy". It also regrets that digital tracing is not the subject of a separate vote.

- Spain: street games -

Locked in for six weeks, the little Spaniards can since Sunday start playing again in the street, but avoiding contact as much as possible. The containment is scheduled to last until May 9, inclusive, and the government is expected to present its relaxation plan on Tuesday.

- Help requests -

Egypt has announced that it has entered into negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to seek one-year financial assistance to weather the recession caused by the pandemic.

South Africa also intends to ask the IMF and the World Bank for financial assistance of up to 4.2 billion dollars (3.9 billion euros).

- Tracing -

More than a million Australians had downloaded a smartphone application on Monday evening, designed to track contacts with people diagnosed with coronavirus, despite concerns over privacy.

In France, the commission responsible for ensuring respect for freedoms in the digital domain, the Cnil, asked for "certain additional guarantees" for the launch of the StopCovid application when the confinement will be lifted on May 11.

- Bayer boosts sales, Adidas becomes disillusioned -

The German chemical and pharmaceutical group Bayer announced Monday a net profit of 1.5 billion euros, up 20% annually in the first quarter of 2020, taking advantage of "greatly increased demand" in the health sector in because of the coronavirus.

In contrast, German sports equipment maker Adidas, with more than 70% of its stores closed worldwide, reported a 95% plunge in its first quarter net profit.

© 2020 AFP