Virus: new restrictions in England, the United States very close to 200,000 dead - France 24

London (AFP)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson must confirm on Tuesday that "pubs, bars and restaurants will have to close at 10 p.m. from Thursday" in England, as the United States prepares to cross the barrier of 200,000 deaths linked to the coronavirus.

The United Kingdom, the most bereaved country in Europe, on Monday raised the alert level measuring the evolution of the epidemic of new coronavirus, in the face of the threat of a second wave that could kill more than 200 per day without "change of course".

The new measures announced by Boris Johnson to Parliament will only be valid for England, with each British province making its own decisions on the coronavirus.

But according to Downing Street, he spoke by telephone to the Scottish, Welsh and North Irish Prime Ministers on Monday and "they have agreed to take a unified approach as much as possible, in the coming days".

With this in mind, Mr Johnson will also encourage Britons to resume teleworking if they have their employer's agreement, according to information from the Daily Telegraph.

The pandemic has killed more than 961,500 people around the world since the end of December, according to a report established by AFP from official sources Monday in the middle of the day.

More than 31.1 million cases have been recorded.

of whom at least 21 million have been cured.

- Almost 200,000 dead in the United States -

The United States is the most bereaved country (199,815 deaths Tuesday at 03:00 GMT).

Next come Brazil (137,272 dead), India (87,882), Mexico (73,493) and the United Kingdom (41,759).

Soon six weeks before the American presidential election, the official toll of the Covid-19 pandemic should reach 200,000 dead very soon in the United States.

The United States records nearly a thousand deaths every day, which, compared to the population, is four times the European death rate.

This thousand daily deaths, where black and Hispanic people are over-represented (more than half of the deaths under the age of 65), is for the Democratic candidate Joe Biden the symbol of President Donald Trump's incompetence in the face of the greatest test of his tenure.

A little further north, Quebec says it is in the dreaded "second wave", according to the national director of public health.

The province, which has more than 8 million inhabitants and is the hardest hit in Canada by the epidemic, recorded 586 new cases in one day, an unprecedented figure since the end of May.

The authorities announced there that the number of people authorized during gatherings in "rented rooms, places of worship, festive events, weddings" increases from 250 to 50 people.

- The overdue stock markets -

Chinese stock markets opened in the red Tuesday, the day after a dark day for European stock markets, shaken by the resurgence of the pandemic in some countries and the potential economic consequences of movement restrictions.

"The sanitary woes are shaking the ambient mood," said David Madden, market analyst for CMC Markets UK.

In Paris, the CAC 40 index fell 3.74%, its worst session since June 11.

In Frankfurt, the Dax plunged 4.37% and in London, the FTSE 100 by 3.38%.

More than 60 rich countries, but not China or the United States, have joined the device put in place by the WHO to facilitate access of poor countries to the vaccine against the coronavirus, according to the list published on Monday.

- Increase in cases in the Maghreb -

The situation seems worrying in Algeria, where the number of positive cases has crossed 50,000 on Monday, in France, where more than 5,000 new cases have been identified in 24 hours, or in Tunisia, where a record number of new patients of Covid-19 has been registered in recent days, without any re-containment measures being considered.

"There will not be a sanitary containment in the current situation" of the epidemic, Prime Minister Mechichi told several Tunisian media.

"We are not in the spirit of containment or a return to the situation of last March, this is not envisaged," he added.

Argentina is also suffering the consequences of the pandemic since it recorded on Monday a new daily record of deaths linked to Covid-19 with 429 deaths, bringing the total toll in the country to 13,482, the authorities announced.

This is the highest number of deaths since the pandemic hit the South American country, where containment measures have been in force since March 20, with gradual easing depending on the region.

The pandemic struck as far as the United Nations General Assembly, which opens Tuesday without any head of state or government present in New York.

All deliver their speech by pre-recorded messages, broadcast on the UN site for a week.

With the coronavirus and its consequences as a common denominator.

© 2020 AFP