Paris (AFP)

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

- United States: Biden promises to act quickly

Joe Biden, well positioned to win the White House, has vowed to tackle the pandemic head-on from "day one" of his presidency.

The United States, the country in the world most bereaved by Covid-19, recorded a new record of daily cases on Friday (+127,000 cases in 24 hours).

According to US media, President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has tested positive, adding to the dozen senior White House officials infected since early October.

- More than 1.24 million deaths

The novel coronavirus pandemic has killed at least 1,243,513 people around the world since the end of December, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Saturday at 11:00 GMT.

More than 49.3 million cases of infection have been officially diagnosed since the start of the epidemic.

Behind the United States, the country most affected with 236,099 deaths, follow Brazil (162,015), India (125,562), Mexico (94,323) and the United Kingdom (48,475).

- "Mutant" virus in minks

Six countries - Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Italy, United States - have so far reported cases of Covid-19 in mink farms, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Denmark on Wednesday announced the slaughter of all of the country's more than 15 million mink, saying a mutated version of SARS-Cov-2, which could threaten the effectiveness of a future vaccine, had been transmitted by these animals to twelve people.

As a result of this discovery, travelers arriving from Denmark (except British or permanent residents) are now denied entry to the UK.

- New support measures in Italy

The Italian government decided on the night of Friday to Saturday new support measures for economic sectors and families affected by recent restrictive measures, amounting to 2.5 billion euros according to the media.

Four regions classified by the authorities as a "red zone" - Lombardy, Piedmont, Valle d'Aosta, Calabria - were re-defined on Friday.

A national curfew, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., came into effect until December 3.

- Football: positive players at Real Madrid

Belgian international striker Eden Hazard and Brazilian international midfielder Casemiro have tested positive, Real Madrid have announced.

The match against Valencia CF on Sunday evening, for the 9th day of the Spanish Championship, will therefore be played without them.

- Russian vaccine for Argentina

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez has said he expects a vaccine to be available by the end of the year after reaching an agreement with Russia that would vaccinate 10 of the southern country's 44 million inhabitants. -American.

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, which Argentina plans to use, has, however, been met with skepticism by the global scientific community, not least because it had not reached the final stages of testing when it was launched last August. .

burs-paj / cds / jhd

© 2020 AFP