Macron will address the French

For the 9th time since the start of the Covid crisis, President Emmanuel Macron will solemnly address the French on Tuesday evening to promote the vaccine booster in the face of the rebound of the epidemic and discuss the priorities for the end of his five-year term.

At this stage, only 3.4 million of the 7.7 million French people eligible for a third dose have been revaccinated.

Several scenarios are considered.

The executive could notably announce the decision to make the booster dose conditional on maintaining the health pass for those over 65.

Singapore: the unvaccinated will pay their medical bills

Singapore will stop paying the medical costs of coronavirus patients who have refused to be vaccinated, authorities in the Southeast Asian city-state where the health system is under pressure have announced.

New Zealand: protest against restrictions

Several thousand demonstrators demonstrated in New Zealand on Tuesday against restrictions imposed to combat the spread of Covid-19, mobilizing a large police deployment in Wellington.

Reward promised by a Chinese city

The Chinese city of Heihe, separated from Russia by the Amur River, is offering 100,000 yuan (13,500 euros) as a reward for any information on the origin of a local upsurge in coronavirus cases.

China, where Covid-19 was first detected almost two years ago, has largely controlled the contagion with the help of radical measures: systematic screening, border closures, vaccination.

But the country has been facing sporadic outbreaks of the epidemic, especially since the end of October in its northern part.

The authorities are reacting firmly, wishing to stop the contamination as the Beijing Olympics approach in February.

Antisemitism amplified by the pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has "rekindled" anti-Semitic rhetoric and given rise to "new myths and conspiracy theories blaming Jews" for the current health crisis, according to a report from the European Fundamental Rights Agency headquartered in in Vienna, Austria, published Tuesday.

Foot: 5 German players in quarantine

Five players from the German squad have been placed in quarantine after one of them tested positive, the German Football Association (DFB) said on Tuesday.

The infected player is fully vaccinated and currently asymptomatic, said the DFB, without revealing his identity.

The daily Bild claims that it is central defender Niklas Süle, pillar of Bayern Munich.

Over five million dead

The pandemic has killed more than 5,053,909 people worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP on Tuesday at 11:00 GMT.

The United States is the country with the most deaths (755,643), ahead of Brazil (609,573) India (461,389), Mexico (289,811) and Russia (249,215).

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 which is officially established.

burs-ang / ber / clr

© 2021 AFP