As the Covid-19 pandemic progresses in the southern United States and Latin America, it threatens to return to Europe, where residents are called upon to remain vigilant.
"We have a serious problem in certain areas," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States' most listened to expert on the pandemic, on Friday June 26 at a press conference by the crisis cell of the White House on the coronavirus. The immunologist was particularly referring to the south and west of the country, where contamination figures are constantly increasing.
Anthony Fauci notably called on young people to take individual responsibility, stressing that they live in an "interconnected" society. "If you are infected, you will infect someone else, who will infect someone else."
New measures planned in California, Texas and Florida
Texas, one of the first American states to reopen its economy, suspended the process and ordered the bars to be closed on Friday. Florida, known for its intense nightlife and where young Americans from all over the country gathered in June to help spread the virus, has banned the sale of alcohol in bars.
Contagions are increasing in 30 of the 50 American states, especially in the largest and most populated in the South and West, including California, Texas and Florida. Faced with the scale of the phenomenon, local and federal officials are even considering new measures to stem the spread of the epidemic, after two months of deconfinement deemed too permissive.
"It is clear that the increase in the number of cases is largely due to certain types of activities, in particular to the Texans who gather in bars," said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
Taking executive action to contain the spread of # COVID19.
More information: https://t.co/P6Ak08plcn pic.twitter.com/TjRHa06nw9
In Florida, the number of infections exploded in June after the containment ended. And the disease mainly affects young people. Indeed, the average age of infected people is 33 years, against 65 years two months ago.
"I'm 25 years old, I don't think I need to worry," boasted Mike Oliveira while drinking a vodka facing the sea. "I've already experienced more complicated things. I'm from the Bronx, you know what I mean. If I survived that, I can survive everything. "
"People don't understand the meaning of exponential, it means that if we start from 7,000 cases today in Texas, we could have 14,000 in four days," worries Barry Bloom, professor of public health at Harvard. "We are very late."
Relaxation in Europe, threatened by a second wave
In Europe, residents are tempted to turn the page on the pandemic after weeks of strict containment, even if the World Health Organization (WHO) is worried about an acceleration of contamination in eleven countries of the continent, rather in the east, which could "push health systems to the brink once more".
Ukraine thus recorded 1,109 cases of Covid-19 on Friday, a record, contagions accelerating since the lifting of restrictions on May 11. A "serious wave", according to the authorities, which are preparing new hospitals.
In the UK, the government has called on the British to be careful, threatening to close the beaches where thousands of people have gathered in recent days as a heat wave crosses Europe.
Thousands of Liverpool supporters have also defied health recommendations to celebrate the club's first league title in 30 years on Thursday evening.
In Rome, the government has announced that the start of the school year will take place on September 14, with "maximum security".
As a sign that the pandemic is here to stay, the final phase of the Davis Cup tennis, scheduled for November, is for its part postponed to November 2021.
With AFP
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