Paris (AFP)

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

- Israel introduces vaccination in schools -

Israel announced Monday to set up anti-coronavirus vaccination stands in schools at the start of the school year to strengthen the immunity of the youngest, in a context of increased contamination in the country which allows vaccination from 12 years old.

In localities with a high rate of contamination, high schools will have to ensure that 70% of the students in a class have been vaccinated.

Otherwise, the courses will have to be done online, according to the government statement.

Children tested for Covid-19 before school starts in Netanya, Israel, August 22, 2021 JACK GUEZ AFP

- China: no new cases -

China, faced in recent weeks with an epidemic rebound linked to the Delta strain, did not report any new cases of Covid-19 of local origin on its soil on Monday, which is a first for a month and leaves to think that the spread is contained.

The Asian country, which had largely controlled the Covid epidemic since the spring of 2020, has been facing the largest epidemic rebound since July in terms of geographic extent, since the appearance of the first cases in the country at the end of 2019.

Disinfection of a school in Bozhou in eastern China on August 23, 2021 STR AFP

- Containment maintained in New Zealand -

New Zealand again maintained its national containment on Monday in the face of the progression of the Covid-19 epidemic, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying that the wave of contaminations caused by the Delta variant had not yet reached its peak.

The Prime Minister said it was too early to lift the restrictions after the appearance last week of the first locally-sourced Covid case detected in an Auckland resident.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern receives her first dose of anti-Covid vaccine on June 18, 2021 in Auckland MICHAEL BRADLEY AFP

- Vaccine: Valneva launches an authorization request -

The Franco-Austrian laboratory Valneva announced on Monday that it had started the gradual submission of its request for authorization of its candidate vaccine against Covid-19 to the British health authorities.

The laboratory's Phase 3 trials, which uses a deactivated virus vaccine, are still ongoing.

Covid-19: the progress of vaccination Kenan AUGEARD AFP

- More than 4.43 million dead -

The Covid-19 pandemic has killed at least 4,430,846 people around the world since the end of December 2019, according to a report established Monday at 10:00 a.m. GMT by AFP from official sources.

The United States is the most affected country with 628,503 deaths, ahead of Brazil (574,527 deaths), India (434,756), Mexico (253,155) and Peru (197,879).

Covid-19: AFP global report

The WHO estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the toll of the pandemic could be two to three times higher than that calculated from official figures.

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