Paris (AFP)

The compulsory use of the mask is rapidly gaining ground in European cities in the face of the coronavirus, especially in France and the Netherlands, in the face of the threat of an uncontrolled resumption of the epidemic which has crossed the 700,000 dead mark in the world.

From Wednesday, the mask will be mandatory even outdoors in the busiest areas of Toulouse, in southwest France, and will soon be the same in Paris and other cities, authorities said. .

A similar measure goes into effect on Wednesday in Amsterdam's famous Red Light District and Rotterdam's shopping districts.

The death toll from Covid-19 has doubled since May 26 and 100,000 more deaths have been detected in just under three weeks.

Nervousness seems to gain the French government while the scientific body which guides it judges "highly probable that a second epidemic wave is observed in the fall or the winter".

"The virus is circulating in a more active way, with an accentuated loss of distancing measures and barrier measures: the balance is fragile and we can switch at any time in a less controlled scenario as in Spain for example", warned the Scientific Council on Tuesday.

The Irish government, for its part, has decided to postpone the last phase of its deconfinement, which includes the reopening of all pubs, as well as that of bars and hotels. Ireland has also decided to make it compulsory to wear masks in stores and malls from August 10.

- "Relentless efforts" -

In the United States, President Donald Trump has once again been resolutely optimistic, saying that "some indicators show that our relentless efforts to contain the virus are actually working very well".

However, the country has recorded 1,302 new deaths linked to Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, according to the latest count from Johns Hopkins University. The total now stands at over 156,000 deaths.

Brazil, the second most affected country in the world, now has nearly 96,000 dead. Argentina, for its part, announced record figures of 168 deaths and 6,792 infections in the last 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health.

In the Philippines, more than 27 million people in Manila and four neighboring provinces, or about a quarter of the archipelago's population, were resettled on Tuesday with just 24 hours notice.

- Job cuts -

The virus also continues to disrupt the global economy and wreak havoc on corporate balance sheets and projects.

The airline Virgin Australia, victim like many others of the collapse of the travel sector, announced Wednesday that it would close one of its subsidiaries and cut 3,000 jobs.

The online accommodation booking platform Booking.com announced on Tuesday that it would cut its global workforce by up to a quarter, which currently stands at 17,500.

British groups Pizza Express and French Accor have also announced 1,000 or more job cuts each to survive the pandemic.

As for the American giant Disney, whose activities in amusement parks, cruises and events plunged 85% in the second quarter, it has decided to focus on direct streaming of content to consumers. This will be the case in particular for his highly anticipated blockbuster "Mulan".

In the United States, Republicans and Democrats continued their discussions on Tuesday to find an agreement on new aid for the millions of Americans unemployed because of the Covid-19, but also for companies in difficulty and local communities.

- Fewer cancers -

Concurrent efforts to find a vaccine continue around the world.

US biotechnology company Novavax, which has received $ 1.6 billion from Washington to develop a vaccine against the new coronavirus, announced Tuesday that its experimental vaccine had produced high levels of antibodies in a few dozen volunteers.

The World Health Organization insisted on Tuesday on the need to respect the protocols and regulations in force in the development of a future vaccine, while Russia has promised "millions" of vaccines from the start of 2021.

"Any vaccine and any drug for this purpose must of course be subjected to all the different trials and tests before being approved for deployment," said WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier, when asked about the Russian announcements at the during an online press conference.

Health care workers continue to pay a heavy price for the disease.

In South Africa some 24,000 health workers have been infected with the new coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, and 181 have died from it, Health Minister Zweli Mkwize announced on Wednesday.

With more than 520,000 confirmed cases, including more than 8,000 deaths, South Africa is the most affected country on the African continent.

burs-ahe / dth / cr / jhd

© 2020 AFP