LIVE- Coronavirus: a Defense Council expected at the Elysee

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The good figures continue to follow in France concerning the coronavirus epidemic.

Logically, Emmanuel Macron should therefore announce Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. a reduction in health restrictions, including the reopening of certain non-essential businesses.

The decision will be ratified during a Defense Council in the morning at the Elysee Palace.

The situation is improving overall in Europe, but other countries around the world remain hard hit, especially in North America.

Follow the evolution of the situation live.

The main information to remember:

- A Defense Council takes place at the Elysée on Tuesday morning

- Emmanuel Macron speaks at 8 p.m. to announce a likely easing of restrictions

- The vaccine race continues with a third candidate running

A Defense Council at the Elysee Palace before an address at 8 p.m.

President Macron must once again address the nation on Tuesday evening to loosen the grip of containment a little and set the course for the health crisis, while the French are hoping for a breath of fresh air as the holidays approach. Christmas and New Years.

The head of state meets in the morning a "defense council" to finalize the decisions he will announce on television in the evening.

We already know that the reduction of the constraints will be done in three phases: around December 1, then before the Christmas holidays and finally at the beginning of 2021. Prime Minister Jean Castex has warned that these announcements would only allow a "slight relaxation of the confinement".

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Less than 5,000 new cases, hospital pressure is easing

501 Covid-19 patients have died in the last 24 hours in hospital and less than 5,000 new cases of coronavirus (4,452) have been identified over the same period, according to official figures released by Public Health France on Monday.

The agency explains, however, that the number of new cases is always lower after the weekend, when fewer tests are carried out.

In total, 49,232 people have died from Covid-19 since the start of the epidemic in France.

The test positivity rate fell to 13.3%, from 14% on Sunday and 14.8% on Saturday.

On Monday, the intensive care unit was occupied by 4,454 Covid patients, including 243 new admissions.

The balance of patients in intensive care units is however in decline, these services counting 55 people less compared to Sunday.

31,481 people carrying the virus were hospitalized on Monday (regardless of the severity of their condition), a little less than the day before (31,522).

Cautious relief also in Europe

France's cautious and balanced message is also that of several Western European leaders, such as Britain's Prime Boris Johnson.

The head of the Conservative government announced Monday to deputies the return in early December, after four weeks of re-containment in England, to a locally modulated strategy, accompanied by a massive screening program.

Among the announced reliefs are the return of spectators to stadiums in early December in some areas, the reopening of so-called non-essential stores and sports halls and the resumption of religious services and weddings.

Spain, which last month established a state of health emergency, has only recorded 400 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants on average for 14 days, against 530 cases in early November.

In Catalonia, bars, restaurants and cinemas reopened on Monday, with limited reception capacities.

Spain's King Felipe VI has placed himself in quarantine after coming into contact with a person who tested positive for Covid-19, the Royal Palace announced on Monday.

New restrictions are, however, expected from Tuesday in Portugal and Sweden.

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Concern in the United States as Thanksgiving approaches

In the United States, where contaminations continue to progress rapidly, the approach of Thanksgiving, Thursday, worries the health authorities.

Despite calls to stay home, many Americans are bracing for family reunions.

Airports have been packed like never before since the start of the pandemic and the lines to get tested are endless.

More than ever, authorities hope to start vaccinations in mid-December, as soon as the first vaccines approved by the United States Medicines Agency (FDA), said Moncef Slaoui, a senior official in the vaccine operation launched by President Donald Trump. .

The federal government plans to vaccinate 20 million people at risk in December, then 25 to 30 million per month.

A third candidate in the vaccine race

The British laboratory AstraZeneca, associated with the University of Oxford, has developed a vaccine effective at 70% on average, even 90% in some cases, according to intermediate results of large-scale clinical trials.

These results seem for the moment less convincing than those of its competitors Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna, which claim an efficacy of more than 90%, but the British formula has the advantage of using a more traditional technology, making its future vaccine less expensive and easier to store since it does not need to be kept at very low temperature.

The European Medicines Agency has indicated that it could approve the first vaccines against Covid-19 by the end of the year or early 2021. The final green light, given by the European Commission, allows laboratories to market their medicine throughout the European Union.

Nearly 1.4 million dead

The pandemic has killed at least 1,388,590 worldwide since the WHO office in China reported the onset of the disease at the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources Monday at midday.

The United States is the most bereaved country with 257,616 deaths, followed by Brazil (169,485), India (133,738 dead), Mexico (101,676 dead) and the United Kingdom (55,024 dead).

Italy crossed the 50,000 dead mark on Monday.