Coronavirus: the state of the world facing the pandemic Saturday, May 2

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The coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 240,000 lives worldwide since its onset in December. The most affected countries are the United States with more than 65,173 deaths, Italy (28,710 deaths), the United Kingdom (28,131 deaths), Spain (25,100 deaths) and France (24,594 dead).

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The deconfinement of populations confined to their homes to avoid the spread of the coronavirus continues at various rates around the world, but always under the threat of a pandemic far from being contained.

In France, the state of health emergency extended until July 24

The government decided this Saturday, during a Council of Ministers, the extension for two months, until July 24, of the state of health emergency to fight against the coronavirus pandemic, announced the Minister of Health Olivier Véran. Came into force on March 24, the state of health emergency is extended because its lifting on May 23 "  would be premature  ", "  the risks of epidemic recovery  " being "  proven in the event of a sudden interruption of measures in progress  ", indicates the bill which will be examined from Monday by the Parliament.

Several key points of this bill worry the opposition, in particular the solitary confinement, on the order of the prefect, of an infected person if he refuses to be placed in quarantine. A measure included in the draft law, but on which Edouard Philippe seems ready to back down. In his deconfinement plan presented this week, the Prime Minister focused rather on the consent of people tested positive.

In public transport, fines of 135 euros are foreseen for not wearing the mask. Several left-wing elected officials have asked the government to distribute them en masse free of charge.

► Read also: France: the price of surgical masks capped at 95 cents

Another point of friction: digital tools to monitor the virus. The text paves the way for the collection of personal and health data, a red line for the opposition. Bruno Retailleau, the leader of the Republican senators, denounces "  a new file even more intrusive  " than the StopCovid application .

A sensitive subject even in the ranks of En Marche, where some deputies do not hide their concerns about tracking and respect for individual freedoms.

European repatriation almost completed

The repatriation of the 600,000 Europeans who were outside the EU when the borders were closed is almost complete, according to the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell. Only 50,000 remain, with problematic cases in Morocco, Cameroon and India.

In several countries of Western Europe, the ebb of the disease is confirmed, but the will to avoid a new wave of contaminations leads the governments to envisage very progressive deconfinements.

► Read also: Coronavirus: the European Union in search of cohesion

Ireland unveils plan to reopen economy

First announced for May 5, deconfinement in Ireland will begin on 18. The government has adopted a five-step approach, reports our correspondent Emeline Vin. Each stage will last three weeks, hopefully if the new infections and the number of ICU patients remain under control. From May 18, DIY and electronics stores will be able to reopen. The rest of non-essential businesses will gradually resume thereafter: first small stores such as bookstores, then large shops facing the street and services deemed in demand such as hairdressers. Among the last authorized, the shopping centers, which will reopen in theory in August.

In terms of social life, small group meetings of four people can be held in two weeks. But for trips within the country, it will be necessary to wait for June 20. On this date, the Irish may, if all goes well, land in a cafe or restaurant. To sip a cold beer in a pub, you will have to wait for phase 5 scheduled for August 10. On the other hand, and this is likely to be a problem for parents who will have to return to work, schools, colleges and high schools will remain closed until the start of the school year in the fall.

The deconfinement started in Austria

In Austria, the deconfinement is at work since May 1: movement restrictions are lifted, gatherings allowed up to 10 people and all stores as well as hairdressers authorized to reopen. A deconfinement which operates under strict sanitary conditions, but which relieves traders and residents, was able to note our correspondent Isaure Hiace .

I am in favor of this return to normal but I believe that we must nevertheless remain cautious: we must continue to maintain the precautionary distances and wear a mask so that we do not suffer a second wave.

Reopening of shops in Vienna

Isaure Hiace

Reflection of the epidemic in Italy, where the Stendhal bookshop reopens

Italy announced Saturday 474 deaths, the largest daily number since April 21, a rebound which is explained by the inclusion of deaths in April that had not been counted; 282 deaths were not communicated until Saturday by Lombardy, said the northern region, the most affected by the pandemic. These are people who died outside the hospital environment.

This rebound comes two days before the start of the country's deconfinement process. In Rome, the Stendhal bookstore is thus carefully reopening, noted our correspondent Anne Le Nir . Like all independent bookstores, the French bookstore in Rome pays a heavy price for the Covid-19 after more than two months of general confinement. The subsidies granted to French bookstores abroad are not enough, and in Italy, there is only one possibility: requesting a bank loan, which is too risky for its owner, Marie Eve Venturino.

The latter therefore launched a crowdfunding campaign with the hastag "  I support the Stendhal bookstore  " and raised the curtain since April 24. While waiting for better days, it maintains a permanence twice a week. A gradual but very encouraging restart.

Spaniards can play sports

All Spaniards are again allowed to leave their homes since Saturday to walk or play sports after 48 days of very strict confinement. Time slots are reserved for the elderly or dependent, children, adolescents. In Madrid, many residents went out to run, sometimes in groups. "  Thank you for running on the sidewalks,  " said a municipal policeman over the loudspeaker. “  After so many weeks of confinement, I really wanted to go out, run, see people. Yesterday I was like a child on Christmas Eve,  ”commented a forties in the Chueca district, woke up at dawn to go to trot.

On the other hand, the wearing of the mask will become compulsory in public transport from Monday to avoid a rebound in coronavirus contagions while the country begins its gradual deconfinement, announced the head of government Pedro Sanchez.

So that the Spanish can have masks before getting on the metro, bus or commuter train, six million masks will be distributed Monday across the country in front of major stations and stations, said Pedro Sanchez. Seven million will also be given to town halls and provinces and 1.5 million to social organizations such as the Red Cross to distribute on their side, he added.

Russia in the midst of an epidemic

Russia already totals 1,222 deaths, and is today the country that registers the highest number of new cases daily, with 10,000 new patients in 24 hours, a record.

Nearly 2% of Moscow's residents, more than 250,000 people, are affected by Covid-19, said the mayor of the capital.

United States: FDA Issues Emergency Clearance for Experimental Antiviral Remdesivir

In the United States, despite the still heavy daily reports, the federated states are advancing in the lifting of restrictive measures. And the American Medicines Agency (FDA) has urgently authorized an experimental antiviral, remdesivir, which it believes can boost the recovery of patients. It was President Donald Trump himself who announced Friday the launch of the use of the drug, which should allow patients with Covid-19 to recover faster, if not lower their mortality.

► Read also: Coronavirus: the United States is the first country to use remdesivir

To revive the economy, more than 35 of the 50 American states have started to lift or are about to lift the strict containment measures they have implemented, while demonstrations for "the reopening of America" ​​are increasing across the country . Texas reopened stores, restaurants or libraries on Friday on condition that they only operate at 25% of their capacity.

However, the United States continues to deplore on average more or less 2,000 deaths every day (1,883 Friday), a plateau on which they have been stranded since mid-April. To demand the lifting of the containment in force for six weeks in their state, thousands of people demonstrated Friday in California with flags of the United States.

Emergency loan for Ecuador

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved $ 643 million in emergency aid to Ecuador, hit by the epidemic and falling oil prices.

The Ecuadorian president admitted on Friday that his government had faced "  problems  " in the management of the bodies of the numerous victims of the coronavirus , due to the collapse of the hospital system and the lack of space in the morgues.

In Brazil on the way to becoming the main source of contamination in the world

In Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro, a notorious corona-skeptic, defends at all costs the resumption of economic activity, the worst is perhaps to come. According to estimates by the research group Covid-19 Brasil, Brazil had more than 1.3 million cases of coronavirus on Thursday . This is 16 times more than the 85,646 cases officially confirmed that day, in this country of 210 million inhabitants where there is very little screening. Brazil also has the highest contamination rate in the world, 2.8, according to the Imperial College of London.

This situation is all the more worrying as Brazil is a country "  with continental dimensions, with very vulnerable populations, such as the inhabitants of the favelas or the natives. Not to mention a weak commitment to containment measures  , ”according to a member of the group.

And a casual response from the far-right president continues to spark huge national controversy. Asked Tuesday that Brazil had just exceeded the figure of 5,000 dead, Jair Bolsonaro replied: "  So what?  " Since then, the official record has passed official to more than 6,300 dead.

Nearly 10,000 detainees released from Philippine prisons, infected with coronavirus

Some 10,000 detainees have been released in the Philippines to try to stop the spread of the new coronavirus in the country's overcrowded prisons, the Supreme Court announced on Saturday. "  The Court is fully aware of the overcrowding of our prisons,  " Mario Victor Leonen, a magistrate of the Supreme Court, told the press, announcing the release of 9,731 prisoners, who are awaiting trial in prison because they cannot pay their cost. bail.

The emergence of Covid-19 cases has been reported in some of the most overcrowded prisons in the country, both among inmates and among prison staff. Social distancing is almost impossible in Philippine penal establishments, where cells sometimes receive up to five times more detainees than expected, due to inadequate infrastructure and a slow and overloaded judicial system. Overcrowding in prisons has worsened since President Rodrigo Dutertre came to power in 2016 and his crusade against drug trafficking, which threw thousands of people in prison .

India: online concert against Covid-19

In India (1,218 deaths), American actor Will Smith and rock legend Mick Jagger are among the international and Bollywood stars who will take part in an online show this Sunday to support the fight against Covid-19.

The strict confinement imposed on March 25, and extended at least until May 17, to the 1.3 billion Indians has plunged the distress of millions of workers in the important informal sector and dealt a very heavy blow to the third economy of Asia.

Our selection on the coronavirus

• Listen to our daily chronicle  Coronavirus info

• The practical questions  :
→  What is known about the mode of contagion
→  disparities and inequalities in coronaviruses: what to remember
→  What outcomes for clinical trials?
→  A vaccine, the only solution to stem the pandemic?
→  How to make a mask and use it well

• Our series  : "  The response, country by country  "

• Each evening, find the State of the world and Africa facing the pandemic

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

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