Paris (AFP)

Highlights, new measures, new reports: an update on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic around the world.

- Increase in cases in Germany -

Germany, which has stepped up screening tests, recorded 1,707 new cases of coronavirus infection in the last 24 hours - and ten deaths (a total of 9,253) -, returning to the levels of the end of April, a period then still considered the peak of the pandemic.

The authorities warn of the rise in cases of contamination, 228,621 in total, linked in large part to the return of many German tourists from abroad.

The government has decreed that the majority of Spain and part of the Balkans - areas popular with German holidaymakers - are considered risk areas and require tests and quarantines on return.

- In France also -

France has exceeded 3,700 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, an unprecedented increase since May, according to figures released Wednesday by the Directorate General of Health (DGS).

According to this count, 3,776 new positive diagnoses were recorded over the last day, against 2,238 on Tuesday.

French hospitals have admitted 162 new patients with Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, up from 185 on Tuesday. In total, 4,806 people are hospitalized for a Covid-19 infection, a figure that has been stable for a week.

- Deaths on the rise in Spain-

In Spain, the weekly death toll has doubled: the country recorded 131 deaths on Wednesday in one week, while the Madrid region is once again the most affected region as at the peak of the pandemic.

The number of new cases has also jumped with 6,700 more positive recorded in 24 hours, bringing the total to more than 370,000, the highest number in Western Europe.

The number of Covid-19 patients hospitalized has more than tripled in two weeks, reaching 963 people including 101 in intensive care on August 18, according to the latest data from regional authorities.

However, Spain is increasing the tests and a large part of the new cases detected are asymptomatic.

- Nearly 788,000 dead -

The pandemic has killed at least 787,918 people worldwide since the end of December, according to a report established by AFP from official sources Thursday at 11:00 GMT.

The United States is the most affected country in terms of both deaths and cases, with 173,193 deaths for 5,530,247 recorded cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University count.

Next comes Brazil (111,100 dead), Mexico (58,481 dead), India (53,866 dead) and the United Kingdom (41,397 dead).

- Crowded swimming pool in Wuhan -

China has defended holding a techno rally last weekend at a crowded water park in Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic, photos of which have traveled the world.

The country, which has not deplored any deaths since mid-May, sees it as a sign of a "strategic victory" against the coronavirus.

On Saturday, a first football stadium should be open to the public for a Super League championship match (1st division). A first since the start of the epidemic.

Wuhan was cut off from the world for 76 days between January and April. But the vast majority of the 11 million inhabitants have been tested in a massive screening campaign and have gradually returned to normal life.

© 2020 AFP