Washington (AFP)

The United States has broken new daily records for coronavirus cases, especially in the south of the country, while India on Thursday reconfigured some 125 million people, nearly a tenth of its population.

Spain, one of the European countries most affected by the pandemic, will for its part pay Thursday a solemn tribute to the victims of the virus, while continuing to keep an eye on more than 120 active foci on its soil.

More than 13.4 million people have contracted the new coronavirus and nearly 580,000 deaths have been reported worldwide at this point.

On all continents, the pandemic is causing a wave of reconfigurations and new measures such as the compulsory wearing of a mask, which is gaining ground, particularly in the United States, although part of the population remains reluctant to use it.

- Alarming figures -

The country, already the most affected in the world, recorded a new 24-hour contamination record on Wednesday, with more than 67,000 cases identified, according to the Johns Hopkins University count.

Texas was a big contributor, with a new one-day record for the state of some 10,790 new cases, local health officials reported.

These alarming figures are equivalent to about double the levels of contamination recorded around April, when the country was largely confined.

Whatever the location, Americans will now be forced to cover their faces to shop in the more than 5,000 stores Walmart, the world's largest retailer that has followed the examples of Apple and Starbucks.

Some models still predict nearly 100,000 new deaths by November in the United States, against 137,000 today.

Latin America and the Caribbean also remain severely affected. The region is the second most bereaved by the pandemic, with 151,022 dead, behind Europe (203,793).

In Brazil, which alone accounts for 75,366 deaths and more than 1.96 million cases, President Jair Bolsonaro, whose contamination has been confirmed, will remain in quarantine but claims "to be well". Peru, also very affected, on Wednesday appointed its third Minister of Health since the start of the pandemic.

In Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro announced Wednesday that he would authorize the transformation of the Poliedro de Caracas, a performance hall that had once been used to host the concerts of the Queen or Metallica groups, in a field hospital. In Argentina, the 2,000 dead mark linked to the coronavirus was crossed on Wednesday.

- Alert in Tokyo -

In Asia, India forced midnight Wednesday the 125 million inhabitants of the state of Bihar to reconfigure for two weeks.

Anticipating supply problems, thousands of people rushed Wednesday to the markets of Patna, the capital of this very poor state, to stock up on food.

Neelam Devi, who is part of a poor community, managed to get a 59-kilogram bag of rice and 15 kilos of flour from a market. "During the previous confinement, we ran out of rice and flour because what we could not buy before its installation. This time, we decided not to repeat this error".

In Hong Kong, bars, gyms and hair salons had to be closed again on Wednesday, and rallies of more than four people were banned in the city-state which had recorded success in the fight against coronavirus.

In Japan, the city of Tokyo is at its highest alert level following an increase in the cases observed, announced on Wednesday the governor of the capital, Yuriko Koike.

- "Essential preparation" -

In Europe, if the worst seems to be over, the risks of resurgence are taken very seriously, as evidenced by the reconfiguration Wednesday of the city of Lleida and several surrounding municipalities in Catalonia (northeast of Spain), after a arm wrestling with justice.

Spain is due to pay a solemn tribute on Thursday chaired by King Felipe VI and in the presence of many senior European leaders and the director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The country, which has more than 120 active households, officially deplores more than 28,400 deaths from the Covid-19.

Ireland, which was to fully reopen its bars on Monday, backed down on Wednesday and pushed the last phase of deconfinement to August 10. Masks will now be mandatory in stores.

European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides expressed concern over the possible "interaction of seasonal flu with Covid-19".

"Increasingly large outbreaks, located in many member states, are reported. Preparation is essential, especially before the autumn and winter months," she warned.

Another indirect consequence of the Covid-19 crisis: the number of vaccinated children worldwide, which has already stagnated for 10 years, has dropped alarmingly, paving the way for other diseases, according to the UN.

"We cannot exchange one health crisis for another," expressed the executive director of Unicef ​​Henrietta Fore.

burs-ahe / ybl

© 2020 AFP