Paris (AFP)

New assessments, new measures, highlights: an update on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic, which killed more than 329,000 people worldwide.

- At least five million cases -

The number of cases of new coronavirus doubled in the world in one month, passing to more than five million (5,049,366) including 329,799 deaths, according to data collected by AFP from official sources Thursday at 19:00 GMT, with however contrasting situations.

In Argentina, detected cases have jumped to 648 in the past 24 hours, more than double daily reports from two weeks ago, the health ministry said. The total number of deaths is 416.

But China, where the crisis started in December, proclaimed a "major strategic success" on Friday. "A huge task" remains to be done in the face of the economic consequences of the virus, added the Chinese Premier.

Europe, the continent most affected with nearly 2 million cases and more than 170,000 deaths, continues on the path of very slow normalization.

The United States is the country most affected in number of deaths (94,661) but also of cases (1.57 million). This is followed by the United Kingdom with 36,042 dead, Italy (32,486), France (28,215) and Spain (27,940).

Italian Social Security however estimated on Thursday, based on the excess mortality between March and April, that the number of deaths could exceed by around 19,000 the official figures.

- If sanctions, retaliation, threatens Beijing -

China warned on Thursday that it would take "retaliatory measures" if the United States Congress adopted sanctions against it for its alleged responsibility in the Covid-19 epidemic.

"In the fight against the epidemic, the Chinese government has always been open, transparent and accountable," Beijing responded to accusations by President Donald Trump who accused him of being responsible for a "world mass killing."

- United States -

More than 35,000 coronavirus deaths could have been prevented in the United States if containment measures had been applied even a week earlier, according to new estimates from researchers at New York University Columbia.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he sometimes wears a mask when conditions demand, but said he doesn't want to do it in front of reporters.

He also announced that the flags flying over American federal buildings would be flown at half-mast for three days to honor the memory of the victims of the coronavirus.

- A billion dollars for the vaccine -

The British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca announced that it had obtained "a billion dollar contribution" from the American public authorities for the development of a vaccine against the coronavirus.

AstraZeneca assured collaborating with several countries and multilateral organizations to make this vaccine widely available worldwide in an equitable manner.

- Contaminated Russian gold mine -

Russia has sent soldiers to Siberia to contain the spread of a Covid-19 outbreak in the largest gold mine on its territory, where nearly 1,200 of the 6,000 employees have been contaminated. One of them died, announced Thursday the company Polyus, owner of the operation.

- Haitian prison -

Several detainees in Port-au-Prince prison, overcrowded and unsanitary, have the new coronavirus, the director of prison administration told AFP as the epidemic spreads in Haiti. It is the largest prison center in the country with more than 3,600 prisoners for a capacity of 778.

According to the latest official report published Thursday morning, the epidemic has resulted in the death of 22 people in Haiti.

- Bond in Chile -

Deaths due to coronavirus have increased by 29% in the last 24 hours in Chile, which is approaching 60,000 cases of contamination (+3,964 in 24 hours), the Minister of Health announced on Thursday. 589 people succumbed to Covid-19.

- Savings at half mast -

Russian authorities predict a 9.5% drop in Gross Domestic Product in the second quarter and a 5% drop in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the fall in oil prices.

France hopes that the rules of budgetary discipline between members of the European Union, suspended for 2020 in the face of the Covid-19 crisis, will also be suspended next year, said Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire.

Some 11.5 million more people will be unemployed in 2020 in Latin America due to the coronavirus pandemic, which will bring the total number of unemployed in the region to 37.7 million, according to a report by two UN agencies published Thursday. The economic downturn in Latin America, estimated at 5.3% of GDP in 2020, will have "negative effects" on the region's unemployment rate, which will drop from 8.1% in 2019 to 11.5% this year.

burx-elm / ybl

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