Berlin (AFP)

Wearing a mask in shops becomes compulsory on Wednesday throughout Germany as other European countries refine decontainment plans, but the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc, with the bar of a millionth case crossed in the United States .

After public transport, the German capital Berlin decided to impose the mask in stores, said Andreas Geisel, deputy interior minister.

The other 15 Länder (regional states) had taken a similar step last week. With the Berlin decision, it is therefore the whole of Germany which now imposes the wearing of masks in shops. The obligation voted Tuesday by the Berlin Senate relates to the protection of the nose and the mouth. Scarves are allowed.

The German health authority urged the population to remain cautious in the face of the pandemic. The federal government and the regions are due to take stock again on Thursday in view of decisions expected for May 6 on possible deconfinement measures.

On the program: massive tests, gradual reopening of schools, reopening of shops (but not initially cafes and restaurants) and compulsory mask in public transport.

Cinemas, major museums and theaters will remain closed, as will the beaches, and the 2019-2020 sports season will not resume. Gatherings of more than ten people will be prohibited.

- "Living with the virus" -

"We will have to live with the virus," warned Mr. Philippe during a speech at the National Assembly. "A little too carefree and the epidemic starts again. A little too careful and the whole country sinks" because of the economic consequences of the crisis, he said. said.

The Spanish government also presented on Tuesday a plan of deconfinement by "phases" until "end of June", whose calendar will depend on the evolution of the pandemic.

The country's general confinement, the strictest in Europe, was already slightly relaxed on Sunday with the authorization for children under 14 to walk. It must still be on Saturday with the possibility of doing sport alone outside or of walking between members of the same household. But the Spanish schools will remain closed until September.

In Italy too, no reopening of schools before September. In this country, which has paid the heaviest price for the pandemic in Europe, the modalities of the deconfinement planned for May 4 have already been specified: prohibited gatherings, movements between prohibited regions, wearing a compulsory mask in transport.

Milan, the capital of Lombardy, the most affected Italian region, has started to prepare its metros for the gradual lifting of confinement in an attempt to enforce safety distances there.

Other European countries have already started a gradual lifting of restrictions, with the reopening of many businesses, but still strict slogans of "social distancing": Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Germany ...

Willy-nilly, the Germans are already complying with the compulsory mask in transport. "It keeps warm, it slips, we breathe badly," complained Emil, a young man who was waiting Tuesday for his commuter train on the platform of a Berlin station. "But if it's to avoid infections, that's fine with me."

- The millionth American case -

In the United States, New York State, epicenter of the pandemic, resists the temptation to deconfinement and will not engage in it until May 15.

Less affected US states, such as Georgia, have already reopened some businesses, Texas must do the same on Friday, and Alabama plans to reopen its beaches this weekend.

The most affected country in the world, the United States has passed the milestone of one million cases of Covid-19, according to the count published on Tuesday by Johns Hopkins University, which refers.

The number of deaths there is now 58,351, according to this count, more than the number of American soldiers died during the Vietnam War, a reference still present in the United States.

To pay tribute to medical and emergency personnel, a squadron of the US Air Force and another of the US Navy flew over New York and its surroundings on Tuesday in a cloudless sky.

In total, more than three million people have been diagnosed worldwide with Covid-19 disease and more than 215,000 have died from it since the onset of the disease in China in December, despite the confinement of more than half of the inhabitants. of the planet.

After the United States, the countries most affected are Italy with 27,359 dead, Spain with 23,822 dead, France with 23,660 dead and the United Kingdom with 21,678 dead, according to a report established by AFP on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. GMT from official sources.

- More than 5,000 dead in Brazil -

The British government will include from Wednesday the deaths in retirement homes in its daily points, which should further increase the balance sheet.

Brazil crossed the 5,000 mark on Tuesday after recording a record 474 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health.

Latin America as a whole is very affected, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned on Tuesday that the pandemic would lead to an increase in hunger and poverty.

In Senegal, the government launched a large food aid distribution on Tuesday to help families cope with the aftermath of the Covid-19 epidemic. "This aid will relieve us (...) We have no salary," said Diarra Ndiaye, unemployed.

And in Malawi, the justice system buried for months the national confinement ordered by President Peter Mutharika, on the grounds that it was not accompanied by any measure of aid to the poorest populations.

burx-plh / hh

© 2020 AFP