Paris (AFP)

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

- Compulsory vaccination of caregivers in France ....

President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday compulsory vaccination for staff in hospitals, clinics and retirement homes, as well as for professionals and volunteers working with the elderly, including at home.

- ... and in Greece -

Vaccination will also become compulsory in Greece for nursing home staff no later than August 16 and for caregivers from September 1, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Monday.

- New restrictions in Spain -

The tourist regions of Catalonia and Valencia have decided to put a stop to nightlife in order to curb the transmission of Covid-19, which is on the rise throughout the country.

In Catalonia, night-time activities will have to close at 12:30 a.m. and meetings will be limited to 10 people in public and private spaces

In the region of Valencia, justice on Monday gave the green light to the establishment of a curfew between 1:00 and 6:00 in 32 cities, including Valencia, and the limitation of meetings to ten people throughout the region.

- Netherlands: the Prime Minister's apologies -

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte admitted on Monday that his government had made a mistake in relaxing some restrictions and apologized, as the Netherlands experiences a surge in Covid-19 cases.

The government had in particular authorized two weeks ago the reopening of nightclubs, but faced with the rapid spread of the contagious variant Delta, especially among young people, it decided to backpedal.

- "Freedom Day" in England -

It will be "freedom day": the British government on Monday confirmed the lifting of almost all restrictions linked to the coronavirus on July 19 in England, while calling for caution in the face of a new outbreak of contaminations.

- Bali expels tourists without masks -

Several foreign tourists were expelled from the Indonesian island of Bali on Monday after being caught without masks, a first as Indonesia faces an outbreak caused by the Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Three visitors, from the United States, Russia and Ireland have been placed on flights to their home countries after being caught without masks in public places, in violation of new zero tolerance rules adopted in Bali, according to the authorities.

- Israel: a 3rd dose for vulnerable people -

Israel began administering a third dose of the vaccine to patients with weak immune systems on Monday amid rising Covid cases linked to the spread of the Delta variant.

- Hunger in the world: bleak prospects -

The Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to a surge in the number of people facing hunger in 2020 - between 720 and 811 million worldwide -, and will have long-term effects on global food security, warns the food agency. United Nations for agriculture and food in a report released Monday.

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This worsening of hunger in the world (+ 18% over one year), the largest for at least 15 years, compromises more than ever the objective set by the UN to eradicate it by 2030. More than half of the undernourished people live in Asia (418 million), more than a third in Africa (282 million) and 8% (60 million) in Latin America.

- Restrictions and curfew in Bangkok -

More than ten million people have been placed since Monday morning under reinforced health restrictions in Bangkok and must also respect a night curfew, Thailand being faced with an epidemic peak unprecedented since the appearance of Covid-19.

- More than four million dead -

The pandemic has killed at least 4.035 million people around the world since the onset of the disease at the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Monday at around 10 a.m. GMT.

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The United States is the most affected country, with 607,156 deaths for 33,853,971 recorded cases.

Brazil (533,488 dead), India (408,764 dead), Mexico (234,969) and Peru (194,387) follow.

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

WHO estimates deaths could be two to three times higher.

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© 2021 AFP