Washington (AFP)

The new coronavirus continues its inexorable advance in Latin America, which in turn has become the epicenter of the pandemic, in particular in Brazil which is now the second globally in number of cases behind the United States.

The Brazilian Ministry of Health again announced on Friday that more than 1,000 people had succumbed to Covid-19 in 24 hours. This is the third day out of four that this has happened.

The total number of deaths reached 21,048 which places Brazil in sixth position worldwide. But it sadly rose to second place in terms of cases with a total of 330,890 contaminations including 20,803 in the last 24 hours.

Previously, Russia was second (326,488 cases) ahead of the United States (1.6 million).

South America is "a new epicenter," the World Health Organization said on Friday.

"We see the number of cases increasing in many South American countries (...) but clearly the most affected at this stage is Brazil," said Michael Ryan, WHO emergency manager.

Another country struggling to stem the coronavirus, Peru. President Martin Vizcarra extended the confinement on Friday until June 30. It has been in effect since March 16.

"Compulsory social isolation" will also continue until this date because of "serious circumstances affecting the life of the nation due to the Covid-19," he added.

The country deplores more than 3,100 deaths and more than 110,000 cases of contamination since March 6.

With figures probably underestimated, the pandemic officially affected more than 5.1 million people worldwide. It has made at least 335,538 dead since its appearance in December in China, according to a report established by AFP from official sources Friday at 19H00 GMT.

- Places of worship -

The country with the most cases, the United States is also by far the most bereaved in the world with 95,921 deaths, including 1,260 in 24 hours. To honor the memory of the victims of the disease, the flags were flown at half-mast until Sunday.

Despite these high balance sheets, the 50 American states have started a partial and progressive deconfinement, retaining certain restrictions on gatherings in order to curb the spread of the virus.

And President Donald Trump, very popular among evangelical Christians and who wants a rapid "normalization" of the country, has argued vigorously for the immediate reopening of places of worship in the country.

"I consider places of worship - such as churches, synagogues and mosques - to be essential places providing essential services," he said at a White House press conference on Friday. .

In France, the fifth country in the world in number of deaths (28,289), it's done: religious ceremonies will be able to resume on Saturday, according to a decree published that same day.

This text obliges the managers of places of worship and organizers of ceremonies to ensure that the faithful respect barrier gestures and physical distance, wear a mask and disinfect their hands. At the entrance to the place of worship, a person will also have to regulate the flows so as not to exceed a maximum attendance gauge.

These measures apply to "anyone 11 years of age and over".

Europe, where the pandemic has killed more than 171,000 people, has started a slow return to normal, but has taken increasing precautions, for fear of a resurgence.

Iceland will reopen its nightclubs, bars and gyms on Monday. The island of Cyprus, very dependent on tourism, will reopen its airports to commercial flights from around twenty countries from June 9. In Italy, the famous Duomo of Florence, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, reopens to the public on Saturday.

- British quarantine -

But in the United Kingdom, travelers arriving from abroad will have to submit to a quarantine of fourteen days. Rare exceptions are planned but not for people coming from France, as London and Paris had however recently suggested.

The French government, which deplored this decision, threatened London with a "measure of reciprocity".

Meanwhile, the cradle of the epidemic celebrated its victory over the coronavirus that appeared in December in the city of Wuhan (central China).

"We have achieved a major strategic success in our response to Covid-19," said Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the opening of the plenary session of the National People's Assembly (PNA), the annual high mass of communist power. .

And less than 24 hours later, Beijing announced on Saturday that it had not identified any new case of contamination with the coronavirus, for the first time since the country began to publish data on the epidemic, in January.

The latest report shows nearly 83,000 cases of contamination, including 4,634 fatal.

The Trump administration accuses the Chinese authorities of having delayed alerting the world to the epidemic and of concealing its magnitude. According to the Republican billionaire, China is responsible for "a mass slaughter of the world".

Beijing vigorously denied the charges of concealment, claiming that it had always shared its information on the epidemic in good time with the WHO and other countries.

burx-elm / roc

© 2020 AFP