Rio de Janeiro (AFP)
Brazil, the second country most bereaved by Covid-19 behind the United States, crossed the threshold of 500,000 deaths on Saturday, while Moscow recorded a new record of contaminations for the second consecutive day.
"500,000 lives lost due to the pandemic affecting our Brazil and the world," tweeted Brazilian Minister of Health Marcelo Queiroga, without specifying the results of the last 24 hours.
According to the Media Consortium, which brings together the country's main media groups and draws up a daily assessment based on reports from regional governments, 500,022 deaths were recorded on Saturday afternoon.
More than 60% of deaths (303,550) have been recorded since the start of the year.
Brazil, which has 212 million inhabitants, experienced a deadly second wave at the start of the year with more than 4,000 deaths per day.
He fears he will be hit by a third wave as the number of infections has spiked again.
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For its part, the Russian capital recorded a new record of cases of contamination by the coronavirus for the second consecutive day, with 9,120 infections in 24 hours, while Saint Petersburg has once again strengthened its anti-Covid measures.
Moscow had already identified 9,056 new cases the day before, against around 3,000 daily cases two weeks ago.
This Covid-19 outbreak is due, according to the authorities, to the Delta variant, which appeared in India and which threatens to overwhelm Moscow hospitals.
In all, the country has recorded 17,906 new cases and 466 additional deaths in the past 24 hours, a peak since March 13.
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The mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin on Wednesday decreed compulsory vaccination of employees in the service sector.
Some 60% of them, or about two million people, must be vaccinated by August 15.
The second city of the country, Saint Petersburg, also affected by a rebound in contaminations, followed suit on Saturday by announcing as a goal the vaccination of 65% of local officials, also by August 15.
The former imperial capital, which has yet to host three Euro football matches, has also announced that access to its main fan-zone, Koniouchenaïa Square, will now be limited to 3,000 people, against 5,000 previously.
In China, which only reported 30 cases of contamination on Friday, vigilance remains maximum: Shenzhen airport on Saturday canceled hundreds of flights after the detection of a case of the Delta variant in a waitress in a restaurant of the airport.
- Stadiums filled -
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In this context, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called for caution in Euro matches against the highly contagious Delta variant.
"When I see full stadiums in other European countries, I am a little bit skeptical," said the Chancellor before a dinner with Mr. Macron, in an obvious reference to Hungary, the only host country of the competition. which does not impose any gauge in its stadium for this Euro.
Faced with a rebound in contaminations due to the Delta variant, Great Britain, for the moment, plans a 50% gauge for the semi-finals and the final, scheduled for July 6, 7 and 11 at London's Wembley stadium. .
According to the British daily The Times, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is studying the possibility of exempting from quarantine around 2,500 people (members of UEFA or FIFA, sponsors, broadcasters) for the semi-finals and the final.
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According to media reports, some British ministers fear that UEFA will move these three matches to Budapest if no exemptions are offered.
Hungary does not impose any conditions on the entry into its territory of travelers from the Schengen area.
"We will do whatever we need to protect the country from Covid," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday, assuring that it was "obviously our priority".
Be careful also in Japan where the six fan-zones initially planned to follow the competitions in Tokyo during the Olympic Games on giant screens have been canceled.
"We have decided to cancel these events which bring people together," said the governor of Tokyo.
© 2021 AFP