Paris (AFP)

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

- Deconfinement in France -

France cautiously comes out of a second lockdown on Tuesday, maintaining health restrictions.

A curfew comes into effect from 8:00 p.m. every day, including December 31 (but not December 24), and cultural venues will remain closed at least until January 7, while the planned reopening on January 20 of cafes, bars and restaurants is not "guaranteed", according to the government.

Children, for their part, may not go to school Thursday and Friday in order to limit the risk of contamination at Christmas.

- Containment in the Netherlands -

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced Monday night a five-week confinement until January 19, accompanied by a new series of measures to fight Covid-19, the most severe in the Netherlands.

All non-essential shops and businesses except supermarkets, grocery stores and pharmacies will be closed from Tuesday, while schools will close as of Wednesday.

The Dutch are called to stay at home.

- Berlin is getting impatient -

Germany is counting on an authorization of the vaccine against the Covid-19 in the European Union "before Christmas", in order to "start the vaccination before the end of the year" with the vaccine of the German laboratories BioNTech and American Pfizer, a Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Tuesday.

The European health authorities have so far evoked a decision no later than December 29.

- Saudi Arabia vaccinates -

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced the start of a massive campaign to vaccinate the population against the new coronavirus, days after approving the vaccine from the US-German alliance Pfizer / BioNTech.

- Vaccine: green light from Jordan -

Jordan has urgently given the green light to the vaccine from the Pfizer / BioNTech alliance, paving the way for vaccination in the kingdom facing a sharp rise in cases of infection with the new coronavirus.

Nearly 262,500 cases of contamination including 3,407 deaths have been recorded since the start of the epidemic in this country of some 10 million inhabitants.

- Extension of restrictions in Norway -

Norway, where the Covid-19 contamination rate is one of the lowest in Europe, announced on Tuesday the extension until the second half of January of its health restrictions to avoid a rebound in the epidemic.

- More than 1.6 million dead, the United States exceeds 300,000 deaths -

The pandemic has killed at least 1,621,397 people around the world since December 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Tuesday at 11:00 GMT.

Over 72.7 million cases have been diagnosed.

The United States is the most affected country in terms of both deaths and cases, with 300,479 deaths for 16,519,616 cases.

Brazil follows with 181,835 dead, India (143,709), Mexico (114,298) and Italy (65,011).

- Singapore reopens to business travelers -

Singapore will allow business travelers and officials from third countries to enter its territory under strict health control from mid-January, city-state authorities said on Tuesday.

Travelers will need to test negative for Covid-19 before travel, get tested on arrival, and then regularly during their stay.

They will also have the obligation to reside and organize their appointments in places predefined by the authorities and arranged to avoid the risk of transmission.

burs-kd / mw / mba

© 2020 AFP