Paris (AFP)

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

- More than 90,000 dead in France -

The Covid-19 epidemic has killed more than 90,000 people in France since it began a year ago, according to figures released on Friday by the French public health agency.

According to these figures updated daily, 90,146 people have died from Covid-19 since the start of the epidemic in hospitals and retirement homes, including 64,835 in hospitals.

With 306 new admissions in 24 hours, there are now 4,033 Covid patients in intensive care or intensive care in France, while this bar of 4,000 had not been reached since the end of November.

- Compelling reasons -

The Council of State, the highest French administrative court, on Friday suspended the obligation for French people returning from abroad to assert "compelling" reasons, but maintained it for travel from or to the French West Indies.

- USA: more than 100 million injected doses -

More than 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been injected in the United States, according to official figures from health authorities on Friday, or about 30% of the total number of injections performed worldwide.

Almost 20% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the nation's leading federal public health agency.

Three vaccines are urgently authorized in the United States: that of Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech.

- Italy is reconfigured from Monday -

Most of Italy, facing a third wave of the pandemic, will be confined again from Monday, the Italian Ministry of Health announced on Friday.

- Greece: third wave -

The Greek authorities have warned against "the serious epidemiological situation" of the pandemic which now has "third wave characteristics", the number of infections having increased especially in Athens and in other major cities of the country.

- Vaccines: one billion doses by the end of 2022 -

Leaders from the United States, Japan, Australia and India have pledged to produce one billion doses of vaccine in India by the end of 2022.

This effort will concern in particular the American vaccine Johnson & Johnson.

- J&J approved by the WHO -

The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the single-dose anti-Covid vaccine from the American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson.

- Green light for a 4th vaccine in France -

The High Authority for Health authorized Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, the day after the European green light, recommending that it be used "preferentially" in areas where the epidemic is "particularly active".

This vaccine is the fourth to be authorized in France.

- AstraZeneca validated in Brazil, WHO wants to reassure -

Brazil on Friday issued final authorization for AstraZeneca's vaccine against the coronavirus, reaffirming its confidence in this product which sows doubt in Europe, and announced the acquisition of 10 million doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik.

The WHO said there was "no reason not to use" the AstraZeneca vaccine, after its use as a precautionary measure was suspended in several European countries.

For its part, the British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca said there was "no evidence of an increased risk" of a blood clot caused by its vaccine.

- Vaccination with music -

Singer and songwriter Gilberto Gil, 78, one of the great living figures of Brazilian music, received the first dose of the CoronaVac vaccine against the coronavirus this Friday.

"First dose of Coronavac injected," the singer's communications team wrote on social media, with a brief video in which he is seen receiving the vaccine to the sound of "Andar con fé", one of the greatest hits. of the musician.

Two other figures of Brazilian music, Caetano Veloso (78 years old) and Chico Buarque (76 years old) were vaccinated a few days earlier in Rio de Janeiro.

- More than 2.6 million dead -

The pandemic has killed at least 2,630,768 people around the world since the end of December 2019, according to an assessment established by AFP from official sources Friday in the middle of the day.

The United States is the country with the most deaths with 532,384 deaths, followed by Brazil (275,105), Mexico (193,142), India (158,306), and the United Kingdom (125,168).

These figures, which are based on the daily reports of the health authorities without including the reassessments based on statistical bases, are generally underestimated.

burs-mlb / roc

© 2021 AFP