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, just before easing health constraints on Wednesday by reopening 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.
- More than 70,000 deaths in Argentina -
Argentina surpassed the threshold of 70,000 deaths from the coronavirus on Saturday, while the average of new daily cases stands at more than 20,000, according to the authorities.
According to the latest report from the Ministry of Health, 400 people have died in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 70,253.
- 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.
- 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 (585,702 deaths), the countries with the most deaths are Brazil (434,715), India (266,207), Mexico (220,159) and the United Kingdom (127,668). These figures, which are based on on the daily reports of the national health authorities, are globally undervalued.
burs-kd-ot / ber / nzg / ybl
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