LIVE - Coronavirus: more than 300.00 dead in Latin America and the Caribbean

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Another symbolic bar crossed by the coronavirus epidemic.

This time, it is Latin America and the Caribbean which are concerned with now more than 300,000 deaths to be deplored in the region.

In France, Prime Minister Jean Castex was declared a contact case after spending time with Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme, who tested positive.

And it is the whole functioning of government that is turned upside down.

Finally, at the global level, the vaccine battle remains fierce.

While the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca, an industrial partner of the British University of Oxford, has announced a pause in global trials, Donald Trump is maintaining his pressure on American labs.

Follow the evolution of the situation live.

Information to remember

• More than 300,000 dead are to be deplored in the Latin America-Caribbean region

• In France, where the situation continues to deteriorate, the government must adapt, while Prime Minister Jean Castex is in contact

• Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca has announced a break in clinical trials for its vaccine, losing ground in this strategic battle.

More than 300,000 dead in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Latin America and Caribbean region crossed the threshold of 300,000 deaths on Tuesday due to the coronavirus epidemic, especially in Peru which exceeded 30,000 deaths that same day.

Latin American giant, Brazil is the second most bereaved country in the world, behind the United States, with 127,464 dead (and 4,162,073 cases).

But Peru deplores the highest rate in the world of deaths in relation to the number of inhabitants, with 93.28 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, according to a ranking published by the American Johns Hopkins University, which is the benchmark.

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The pandemic has killed more than 894,000 people worldwide and 27,421,340 cases of infection have been officially diagnosed since the end of December, according to a report established by AFP on Tuesday afternoon.

The United States is the most affected country in number of deaths, with 189,557.

Brazil (127,464), India (72,775), Mexico (67,781) and the United Kingdom (41,586) follow.

In France, the contact case Jean Castex upsets the government

On the side of France, the situation experienced "a clear deterioration" Tuesday, according to the Directorate General of Health.

The positivity rate of the tests carried out on the whole of the territory rose once again, to 5.2%.

574 people are currently hospitalized in intensive care, including 86 in the last 24 hours.

This constitutes a notable increase compared to the figures communicated on Monday (there were 537 people in intensive care).

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And it is Jean Castex in person who could become the symbol of this degradation.

The Prime Minister is a contact case after spending two hours on Saturday in the car of Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme, who has since tested positive.

Government activity is inevitably modified.

On Wednesday, the back-to-school seminar and the Council of Ministers will be held remotely, by videoconference.

The Prime Minister's agenda will "be reorganized so that he can work from Matignon, where he lives, but by videoconference in the coming days," his entourage told franceinfo.

Canceled session in the European Parliament

In addition to France, the whole of Europe is experiencing a sharp rebound in the number of cases: the session of the European Parliament scheduled for next week in Strasbourg was thus canceled due to the high health risk linked to the pandemic and was will be held in Brussels.

"The decision adopted yesterday by the French authorities to classify the entire Bas-Rhin department in the red zone obliges us to reconsider the trip to Strasbourg", declared the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli.

In England, gatherings of more than six people will be banned from Monday, instead of 30 people currently.

Spain, one of the most affected European countries, has passed the bar of 500,000 diagnosed cases.

Schools have reopened, but many parents refuse to send their children back to class, despite the threat of sanctions.

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Oxford-linked AstraZeneca halt in vaccine battle

To shed light on a possible serious adverse reaction in a participant, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca, an industrial partner of the British University of Oxford, has announced a pause in global trials of its vaccine in several countries, including the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom. United States, after the appearance of a "potentially unexplained illness" in a volunteer.

Vaccinations will be halted until an independent committee assesses the incident, details of which have not been revealed but which is likely a significant side effect.

This break could delay one of the most advanced Western projects, along with those of the American companies Moderna and Pfizer, each recruiting tens of thousands of volunteers to verify that the doses are safe, and prevent those vaccinated. to fall ill with Covid-19.

The three companies have so far said they hope for results before the end of the year or early 2021, and have started manufacturing millions of doses ahead of time in case they are conclusive.      

In the United States, the most affected country in the world, many experts fear that US President Donald Trump will pressurize to authorize a vaccine against the coronavirus before the presidential election on November 3.

The Republican, candidate for re-election, said his country would have a vaccine "this year".

Faced with the growing controversy, the bosses of nine companies developing vaccines, including the largest pharmaceutical groups, wanted to reassure the general public by signing a joint commitment to rely on the results of clinical trials before requesting authorization.