Paris (AFP)

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

- France: 20 million first-time vaccinated -

France crossed the threshold of 20 million people on Saturday who had received at least one dose of vaccine against Covid-19, a few days from a reduction in health constraints with the reopening of shops, terraces and cultural places.

"This reinforces the prospects for exiting the crisis which are also reinforced by the evolution of the data of the epidemic which is regressing everywhere" in France, declared the head of government Jean Castex.

The French government has set a target of 30 million first-time vaccines in mid-June and has just extended vaccination to over 18s, without conditions, for doses available overnight.

- Tourism in Portugal, event in Lisbon -

After the United Kingdom, Portugal will allow tourists from most European countries from Monday, the Portuguese Interior Ministry announced on Saturday.

At the same time, hundreds of people, mostly without a mask, gathered on Saturday in Lisbon to protest against health rules to fight against the spread of the coronavirus and defend "individual freedoms".

- India: confinement in Bengal -

The Indian state of West Bengal, particularly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic after mass electoral rallies in April, imposed a two-week lockdown on Saturday in an attempt to curb contamination.

This state, whose hospitals are overwhelmed, recorded 21,000 new cases of contamination out of the 326,000 reported in India on Saturday.

- Tokyo Olympics?

a "suicide mission" -

Holding the Tokyo Olympics this summer would be a "suicide mission" as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage around the world, said the boss of Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten.

“It is dangerous to host the big international event from all over the world,” CEO Hiroshi Mikitani said in an interview with CNN.

"The risk is therefore too great and ... I am against holding the Tokyo Olympics this year," he added, describing the Games as "a suicide mission".

- New measures in Taiwan -

Taiwan on Saturday decreed stricter physical distancing measures for its capital Taipei and its surroundings after a sudden spike in coronavirus cases in a country that has recorded only 1,500 cases and 12 deaths since the start of the epidemic.

These measures come the day after the authorities' decision to shut down entertainment venues for an indefinite period in particular.

- No Everest from China -

China has canceled any ascent of Everest from its territory in order to avoid any risk of contamination with Covid-19 by climbers from Nepal, according to state media.

Nepal, India's neighbor, is hard hit by a second epidemic wave, when the Himalayan state was planning to relaunch its tourism this summer after a 2020 season reduced to nothing.

- More than 3.3 million dead -

The pandemic has killed more than 3.359 million people around the world since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Saturday at 10 a.m. GMT.

After the United States (585,232 deaths), the countries with the most deaths are Brazil (432,628), India (266,207), Mexico (220,159) and the United Kingdom (127,668).

These figures, which are based on daily reports from national health authorities, are generally underestimated.

burs-kd-ot / ber / blb

© 2021 AFP