Paris (AFP)

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

- India: record 4,000 deaths per day

For the first time since the start of the epidemic, India has recorded more than 4,000 deaths (4,197) in the past 24 hours.

A total of 238,270 people have officially died from Covid-19 in this country.

Despite international aid, patients continue to die at the gates of overwhelmed hospitals.

And, according to specialists, the worst is yet to come, with an epidemic peak expected within several weeks.

Containment for a week goes into effect on Saturday in the state of Kerala, in the southwest of the country.

- Viruses on Everest

In the past three weeks, cases have skyrocketed, and two in five people tested are now positive.

- Pakistan takes precautions

Pakistan fearing an Indian degradation, imposes nine days of severe restrictions on Saturday.

Schools, shops, restaurants and parks are closed and public transport has been shut down as Eid al-Fitr approaches, the feast marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, a period of gatherings .

International flights have been reduced and borders with Iran and Afghanistan closed, except for trade.

- Vaccines: Macron urges Washington to export

French President Macron calls on the United States to "end" the ban on the export of vaccines a few days after his American counterpart proposed a lifting of patents on vaccines.

"The key to producing vaccines faster for poor countries and intermediate countries is to produce more: lift export bans," said President Macron.

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said he was ready on Saturday to discuss a lifting of patents if "concrete proposals are put forward".

The Pope for his part condemned "the narrow nationalism which prevents, for example, the internationalization of vaccines" as well as "the virus of individualism" which "makes us indifferent to the suffering of others".

- Pfizer / BioNTech: EU orders 1.8 billion doses

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced a new contract to purchase up to 1.8 billion doses of anti-Covid vaccines from BioNTech-Pfizer.

The contract includes a firm order for 900 million doses and an option for an additional 900 million.

These new deliveries, scheduled for this year and until 2023, will make it possible to adapt to new variants of the coronavirus, but also to vaccinate children and adolescents.

- Vaccine: low priority children (WHO)

The World Health Organization has ruled that children should not be vaccinated until all countries can vaccinate the elderly and at risk.

Canada became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for adolescents as young as 12 on Wednesday.

The United States is also expected to allow it next week and Germany says it can offer it to this age group by the end of August.

- Nearly 3.3 million deaths

The pandemic has killed at least 3,272,332 people around the world since the end of December 2019, according to an AFP report from official sources on Saturday.

After the United States (580,901 dead), the countries most affected are Brazil (419,114 dead, India (238,270 dead), Mexico (218,657 dead), and the United Kingdom (127,598 dead).

The trend over the week shows a deceleration for new contaminations in all regions of the world, except in Asia due to an outbreak in India and its neighbors.

© 2021 AFP