Paris (AFP)

New assessments, new measures, highlights: an update on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic around the world.

- Australia: Melbourne reconfigured -

Most of the pupils will again follow distance education. Restaurants and cafes can only serve take-out meals.

The whole state of Victoria is isolated from the rest of the country.

- EU: recession worse than expected -

In the euro area, the economic impact will be greater than expected, with a fall in GDP of 8.7% in 2020, predicts the European Commission. The contraction should exceed 10% in Italy, Spain and France.

"The economic impact of containment is more serious than we had originally anticipated. We continue to navigate in troubled waters and face many risks, including a new major wave of infections," said the vice president of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis.

- No "long-term" effect of chloroquine -

Patients treated "long term" with chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, especially for autoimmune diseases, were no less affected by severe forms of Covid-19 during the epidemic, according to a French study.

- More than 538,000 dead -

The new coronavirus has killed at least 538,326 people worldwide since the end of December and infected more than 11.6 million people, according to an AFP report from official sources at 11:00 GMT on Tuesday.

The United States is the most affected country in terms of both death and case numbers, with 130,306 deaths for more than 2.9 million cases.

After the United States, the most affected countries in terms of death are Brazil (65,487 dead), the United Kingdom (44,236 dead), Italy (34,869 dead) and Mexico (31,119 dead).

India has passed the 20,000 death mark officially attributed to the pandemic.

Iran has announced a new death record with 200 deaths in one day.

- No new case in Beijing -

Beijing on Tuesday announced zero new Covid-19 patients over the past 24 hours in the Chinese capital, the first since a rebound last month.

Tuesday, 11 million Chinese high school students began the bac exams a month late, with the sidelining of candidates caught in a sudden coughing fit.

- Bolsonaro has symptoms -

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has always expressed skepticism about the pandemic, told CNN Brazil that he had some symptoms of the new coronavirus and that he had undergone a test, the results of which will be known on Tuesday.

- The mayor of Atlanta positive -

The mayor of the American city of Atlanta Keisha Lance Bottoms, whose name has been put forward as possible running mate for the democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, announced that he had tested positive for the new coronavirus.

- BoJo is controversial -

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is accused of distorting reality by blaming the neglect of retirement homes on the spread of the new coronavirus in these facilities, which are paying a heavy price for the disease.

burs-ang / ber / cr

© 2020 AFP