Coronavirus: the state of the world facing the pandemic Thursday, May 14

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The Covid-19 pandemic has killed at least 297,259 people worldwide, according to a report this Thursday by AFP. While France is launching a plan to support tourism, the controversy is swelling around access to a future vaccine. It should not see the light of day for at least a year, according to the most optimistic forecasts.

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In France, the government comes to the aid of the tourism sector, which according to Prime Minister Edouard Philippe "  is probably facing the worst test in its modern history  ". He announced Thursday a plan of support " unprecedented " to "  18 billion of commitments  ." Among the measures presented: extended access to the solidarity fund and partial unemployment for companies in the sector, as well as a doubling of the daily ceiling for restaurant tickets. The French are invited to take their reservations for this summer. "  They will be able to go on vacation in July and August in France  ", now ensures Edouard Philippe, subject however " possible very localized restrictions  ”. In this case, tourism stakeholders have committed to fully reimburse these reservations, said the Prime Minister.  

Controversy over access to future vaccines

More than 100 Covid-19 vaccine projects are in the pipeline around the world and a dozen clinical trials are underway. The French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi has thrown a stone in the pond by announcing that a possible vaccine would be distributed in priority in the United States, country which invested to support its research. An advance "  of several days or several weeks  ", according to its managing director, Paul Hudson, in an interview granted to the Bloomberg agency Wednesday evening. All Thursday, these statements aroused indignation in the French and European political world. President Emmanuel Macron notably declared that a possible vaccine should not be subject to "  the laws of the market  ". For the European Commission, the future vaccine"  Must be a good of public utility and its access must be equitable and universal  ". The CEO of the Sanofi group spoke again on Thursday afternoon. He argued that it was "  vital that the vaccine be available everywhere  ", said he was "  sorry  " that his remarks had raised such controversy, but considered it necessary that a real debate take place in Europe to ensure that research is progressing faster

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In parallel, more than 140 personalities, including the presidents of South Africa, Senegal and Ghana, as well as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, asked in an open letter published online that vaccines and treatments against coronaviruses are provided "  free to all  ".

The production of a Covid-19 vaccine is not going to happen anyway. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) expects to create and approve a vaccine within a year. But this is an " optimistic  " scenario  based on the tests that are currently being conducted, said Thursday its director of strategy Marco Cavaleri. In the meantime, the WHO warns that the virus could "  never disappear  " and that the world "  will have to live with  ", as with other diseases, like HIV.

Finland reopens for fear of second wave

The children resumed their way to school in Finland on Thursday after eight weeks of closure. But distance education could be preferred after the summer holidays. The government announces that laws are being prepared to allow schools to choose, depending on the circumstances, face-to-face or distant education, at the start of the school year scheduled for mid-August. Finland has so far recorded 284 Covid-19 deaths with more than 6,000 cases of infection. This rate, lower than that of neighboring Nordic countries, leads epidemiologists to warn that future waves of the virus could prove to be more serious.

Japan : state of emergency lifted in much of the country

Faced with the sharp decline in the number of new cases in recent weeks, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Thursday the lifting of the state of emergency for most prefectures of the country, two weeks ahead of the initial schedule. 39 of the 47 Japanese prefectures are affected, or 54% of the population. A state of emergency is maintained in major cities, notably Tokyo and Osaka. The country has recorded some 16,000 cases of Covid-19 and 687 deaths on its soil since the start of the health crisis. These figures are very much lower than those recorded in Europe and the United States. But experts believe the official figures are far below reality, due to limited testing practice.

Bangladesh : first case confirmed in refugee camp

Authorities in Bangladesh and WHO announce that the first confirmed case of a new coronavirus has been detected in the population of Rohingya refugee camps, where nearly one million people live in extreme poverty. At the same time, Bangladesh built a large field hospital with an initial capacity of 2,084 beds in three weeks in the capital, Dhaka. Bangladeshi authorities hope that this will reduce the pressure on the health system. To date, the country has recorded 269 deaths in nearly 18,000 confirmed cases

Homophobia : South Korea revises its tracking system

South Korean health authorities have announced a review of the procedures for finding people who may be infected with the new coronavirus for fear of discrimination against the LGBT community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender). After the discovery of a source of contamination, some 2,500 people frequenting gay bars and clubs in the bustling Itaewon district of Seoul are wanted for tests. Faced with criticism from the LGBT community, which fears new discrimination in this country where homosexuality is still largely taboo, the State undertakes to limit the information published on the confirmed cases.

Donald Trump threatens to break diplomatic ties with China

Donald Trump said he was very disappointed with China's inability to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. In an interview broadcast Thursday by the Fox Business Network television channel, the American president estimates that the pandemic is likely to call into question the commercial agreement between the two first world economic powers. A threat already formulated by Donald Trump in early May. The American president even evokes this Thursday the possibility of severing all relations with China.

Wisconsin local justice system opposes extension of containment

The Wisconsin State Supreme Court overturned the Democratic governor's decision to extend the confinement on Wednesday. Justice ruled in favor of the Republican parliamentarians who had presented this request. She believes that "  confining all citizens to their homes, prohibiting all travel and closing businesses exceeds regulatory authority  " of the governor. The bars were therefore able to reopen this Thursday as evidenced by photos published by managers on social networks. Wisconsin, where 400 people have died from Covid-19 to date, is not the only state where containment has turned into a legal battle between Democrats and Republicans. But in the other cases, for example in California or Michigan, the Conservatives' appeals were unsuccessful.

Nicaragua: ' express burials ' raise doubts on official figures 

The Nicaraguan press has been pointing for several days to the multiplication of rapid burials, in the middle of the night or in the wee hours of the morning, without relatives of the deceased and without flowers. La Prensa writes, for example, that one of his journalists witnessed the release of a coffin from a hospital in Managua, the capital, on Wednesday under police escort. The officers withdrew "  only after the grave was sealed  ." These "express burials", as the local press calls them, cast doubt on the official figures for deaths linked to Covid-19. This report communicated by the Ministry of Health is eight dead.

Venezuela: businesses reopen despite quarantine 

"  Hunger forces non-essential companies to break their quarantine,  " says Tal Cual . The newspaper reports on the case of this Caracas hair salon, now open three mornings a week. He is not the only one to defy the confinement, which was however extended until June 12 by the Venezuelan government. "  For many Venezuelans, it is impossible to stay locked up at home longer without earning a living, especially when food prices have risen 153% and prices for medical and health services have risen 109% since early quarantine,  "writes the Venezuelan newspaper.

Iran: concerns over possible new sources of infection 

At least three provinces in the country are said to be affected by new sources of infection, according to Iranian authorities. Ministry of Health spokesman says situation is " critical in southwest Khouzestan  ", where public administrations, banks and non-essential businesses have been closed in almost a third of the counties . It "  could also become so in North Khorassan  " (north-east) and in Sistan-Baluchistan (south-east). Since last month, the authorities no longer give figures on the disease province by province. The official national death toll is 6,854, making Iran the country most mourning the plague of Covid-19 in the Near and Middle East.

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 the Covid-19:
→  Birth of a pandemic
→  Everyday life put to the test
→  The history of epidemics
→  Science facing the Covid-19
→  The geopolitical consequences

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