THE ESSENTIAL
With 30,004 deaths officially recorded, France crossed the barrier of 30,000 deaths linked to the Covid-19 epidemic on Friday evening. If the epidemic remains under control, and the number of patients in intensive care continues to decrease, the authorities however call for caution and respect for barrier gestures as the rate of reproduction of the epidemic has returned to above of 1 in mainland France. In the rest of the world, the number of contaminations continues to explode, particularly in the United States and Brazil, the countries most affected.
The main information to remember:
- France crossed the 30,000 death mark on Friday
- The reproduction rate of the epidemic has returned to above 1 in mainland France
- The United States and Brazil, the most affected countries, continue to record a sharp increase in the number of contaminations
In France, the risk of a "second wave"
France crossed the milestone of 30,000 deaths linked to Covid-19 on Friday. The announcement comes at a time when the public health agency France has noted a "new trend in the increase in the circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus" in mainland France and the authorities have called for "vigilance" in the face of risk of a second wave of the epidemic. One of the indicators monitored is the famous "effective R", that is to say the number of people infected by a patient. While it has been below 1 at the national level in recent weeks, this number, based on positive virological tests, has risen above this bar in mainland France.
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However, the decline in the number of patients with severe form in intensive care continues, falling below the 500 mark, to 496 (-16 in 24 hours), specifies the Directorate General of Health.
"I asked all the actors to wear the mask more and more to protect us as well as possible from a possible second wave of the epidemic, on which I have no information, either official or hidden. But the best way to fight it is to prevent it, "said Prime Minister Jean Castex during a trip to Dijon.
Reopening of stadiums
In France, the football stadiums, which have been deprived of an official match since March, meet with the public this weekend, with friendly matches, a maximum of 5,000 spectators and a strict health protocol.
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Opening of the borders
Norway will reopen its borders on Wednesday to tourists from most European countries where the level of infection is deemed "satisfactory", and of which France is a member.
Greece has meanwhile decided, following the increase in cases in the neighboring Balkans and several "imported" cases, to take measures "for nationals of neighboring countries arriving by land border".
More than 70,000 dead in Brazil
Brazil crossed the milestone of 70,000 coronavirus deaths on Friday, and with a level of new contaminations in 24 hours still very high - more than 45,000 - which does not suggest a rapid change in the curve of the pandemic.
The Covid-19 also continues to wreak havoc in the rest of Latin America, where it reaches some of its leaders. In Bolivia, interim president Janine Añez, a candidate in the September presidential election, announced Thursday that she was infected.
Over 556,000 dead worldwide
The pandemic has killed at least 556,140 people worldwide, according to a report by AFP from official sources on Friday. More than 12,361,580 cases of infection have been diagnosed in 196 countries and territories.
The United States is the most affected country, with 133,969 deaths. 63,643 additional cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the last 24 hours. The day before, the country had recorded a new record in the number of infections with Covid-19 with more than 65,500 additional cases in one day. Since the start of the pandemic, more than 3.18 million cases of coronavirus have been detected in the United States.
Follow Brazil with 70,398 deaths, the United Kingdom (44,650), Italy (34,938) and Mexico (33,526).