The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday, July 1, that the coronavirus pandemic is continuing to worsen worldwide. Since its appearance in China six months ago, Covid-19 has infected approximately 10.6 million people worldwide and has killed at least 514,803 people.

In the past week - the worst in terms of infections since the start of the epidemic - the number of infections has exceeded 160,000 per day, according to WHO. And "60% of all Covid-19 cases so far identified have been reported in the past month," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.

"The best way out of this pandemic is to take a holistic approach," he said, again calling for compliance with the rules of distancing, detecting and isolating cases, quarantining their contacts and carrying a mask as much as necessary.

Outbreak in the United States

In the United States, a record level of new cases was reached on Wednesday with more than 50,000 new infections in 24 hours. These new infections bring the total number of cases detected on American soil to almost 2.7 million. The world's leading power remains the most bereaved country in the world by the pandemic with more than 128,000 deaths.

As the long weekend for the 4th of July national holiday approaches, traditionally marked by family reunions and gatherings to attend the fireworks, local authorities have often decided to act.

The outbreak is particularly striking in California, long a model of prevention, where some of the restrictions lifted in late May are back. The governor of this state of 40 million inhabitants thus decided Wednesday to close for "at least three weeks" the dining rooms in Los Angeles and in 18 other counties representing more than 70% of the Californian population. The ban also applies to bars, cinemas and museums.

As in southern California, some beaches in Florida have also been closed for National Day.

Canada Fears Second Wave

The mayor of New York announced to him that the dining rooms would not reopen on July 6, as foreseen by the cautious plan of deconfinement of the American economic capital which counted more than 22 000 deaths of the epidemic.

A study released Wednesday indicates that the pandemic has caused at least 18% more deaths than a normal year in the United States, and up to three times more in New York, very badly affected. President Donald Trump, much criticized for his management of the crisis, said Wednesday convinced that the coronavirus would "simply disappear" at "some time".

But in neighboring Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said he feared a "second wave" epidemic "that could hit very hard". The country has extended until July 31 the ban on foreigners, except - paradoxically - Americans, and until August 31 mandatory quarantine upon arrival in the country.

Worry in Brazil

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the situation also remains worrying, notably in Brazil: the country crossed the 60,000 coronavirus death mark on Wednesday, after having recorded an additional 1,038 deaths in the past 24 hours, the ministry announced. health.

Colombia, the fourth largest economy in Latin America, has passed the 100,000 case mark, with 4,163 new infections in one day.

The death toll on this part of the continent could exceed 400,000 dead within three months if more stringent health measures are not taken, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

With AFP

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