Paris (AFP)

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

- Russia: new death record -

The number of new cases rose to 24,439, the highest since mid-January when the country was emerging from a second deadly wave.

- Indonesia: strict restrictions -

More than 50,000 police and soldiers have been deployed to enforce strict restrictions that went into effect in Indonesia on Saturday, amid an unprecedented wave of coronavirus infections.

Partial containment has thus entered into force in the capital Jakarta, on the main island of Java and in Bali.

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The fourth most populous country in the world has seen its number of daily cases more than quadruple in less than a month, with a new record of 27,913 cases of contamination recorded on Saturday in the past 24 hours.

Deaths stood at 493, lower than the record 539 recorded on Friday.

The overwhelmed health system is on the verge of asphyxiation.

Crowded hospitals are turning away patients, forcing desperate families to seek oxygen to care for the sick and dying at home.

- Delta variant: Iran fears a 5th wave -

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday warned of a "fifth wave" of the coronavirus, caused by the Delta variant, calling on citizens to fully comply with health instructions.

Iran is the country in the Near and Middle East most affected by the pandemic.

The disease has killed more than 84,600 people out of a total of more than 3.24 million people infected, according to the latest official figures, largely underestimated by the authorities themselves.

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- Italy: caregivers against vaccination obligation -

In Italy, three hundred caregivers have taken legal action to obtain the lifting of the obligation for medical and health personnel to be vaccinated against Covid-19, the press reported on Saturday.

- Almost four million dead -

The pandemic has killed at least 3,964,799 people around the world since the end of December 2019, according to an assessment established by AFP from official sources on Saturday midday.

The United States is the most affected country in terms of number of deaths (605,304), followed by Brazil (521,952), India (401,050), Mexico (233,425) and Peru (192,902).

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

The WHO estimates that the toll of the pandemic could be two to three times higher.

burs-kd-ang / mw / ial /

© 2021 AFP