Record of contaminations in Argentina, the threshold of 120,000 dead exceeded in the United States: the coronavirus pandemic, which "continues to accelerate" according to the World Health Organization, forces Saudi Arabia to limit the great Muslim pilgrimage in Mecca to prevent contagion.
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"It took more than three months for the first million cases to be reported. The last million cases were reported in just eight days," warned WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. This shows that the pandemic "continues to accelerate," he said at a virtual conference hosted by the emirate of Dubai on Monday.
"An economic, social and, in many countries, political crisis"
The Covid-19 pandemic "is much more than a health crisis, it is an economic, social and, in many countries, political crisis. Its effects will be felt over decades," he warned. Unesco has also alerted, in a report published Tuesday, the unprecedented havoc that the epidemic could cause among traditional neglected education.
"Past experiences - as with Ebola - have shown that health crises can leave a large number of people by the wayside, especially the poorest girls, many of whom may never return to school", affirmed in this document the director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Audrey Azoulay.
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In the United States, the country most bereaved by the Covid-19, the toll exceeded 120,000 on Monday. In Latin America, which has become the epicenter of the epidemic, Argentina broke its daily record of contaminations (2,146) and deaths (32) on Monday. The death toll in the country is 1,043 dead. Its neighbor, Brazil, remains the second most affected country in the world behind the United States with a total of 51,271 deaths for more than 1.1 million cases.
Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca maintained but limited
Saudi Arabia decided on Monday to maintain the hajj, the great pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam and one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, which attracted 2.5 million, in late July. faithful in 2019.
But the hajj, which can become a huge vector of contagion of the new coronavirus with faithful from all over the world, will be reduced to a minimum: only people of all nationalities "being inside the Saudi kingdom" will be able to perform it, announced the official Saudi agency. Saudi Arabia is the Arab country in the Gulf most affected by the pandemic. Authorities have officially identified more than 161,000 people infected, 1,307 of whom have died.
The situation is also worsening in South Africa, which crossed the 100,000 mark on Monday, with nearly 2,000 dead.
Europe is gradually reducing its precautionary measures
On the other hand, several European countries, submerged in the spring by the disease, continue to lighten the precautionary measures in favor of a respite from the epidemic. The Spanish Professional Football League has sent clubs a draft health protocol for a possible return of the public to the stadiums, which includes registration, masks and compulsory temperature measurement.
In France, cinemas and casinos reopened on Monday, and school has again become compulsory for all students, with the exception of high school students, two weeks before the summer holidays. Near Paris, the Disneyland amusement park announced its reopening for July 15, with a reduced capacity.
The United Kingdom, the most affected country in Europe, continues to gradually lift its containment. It recorded fewer than 1,000 new cases and 15 deaths on Monday, the lowest record since March 15, according to Health Minister Matt Hancock. England plans to reopen cinemas, museums and galleries from July 4, a new step in the deconfinement process.
Covid-19 has officially killed at least 469,060 people worldwide and contaminated more than 9 million, including 4.2 million now considered cured, since China reported the appearance in December disease.