Outbreak of deaths in Peru

Peru, the country with the highest Covid-19 death rate in the world, recorded more than 100 deaths on Friday, for the first time in four months, the health ministry reported.

Peru on Friday began requiring certificates of the Covid vaccine in stores, banks and airports due to the increase in cases and deaths.

It has also banned gatherings and times of sociability, including those held in homes and family visits, at Christmas and New Years.

Two cases of the Omicron variant in Mauritius

Two first cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been detected in Mauritius, on a person returning from South Africa and on another whose spouse has stayed in this country, the Minister of Health announced on Friday.

France: green light for preventive treatment

The French health authorities authorize the preventive use of an antibody treatment against Covid-19, in people whose body is resistant to vaccination, provided that they present a high risk of severe form.

Evusheld is a synthetic antibody treatment developed by the AstraZeneca laboratory.

Unlike most anti-Covid antibody treatments, which are intended for patients already hospitalized to prevent them from a very serious form, Evusheld aims to act before the onset of the disease, on the same principle as a vaccine.

Austria: mobilization against compulsory vaccination

About 44,000 demonstrators, according to the police, gathered on Saturday in the center of Vienna after already several weekends of protest in the country, to denounce the compulsory vaccination against Covid-19 and the confinement of those who refuse any injection.

In total, 24 separate gatherings were planned in the Austrian capital, the far-right FPÖ party organizing in particular "a mega-demonstration" close to the Hofburg Palace.

Nearly 5.3 million dead

The pandemic has killed at least 5.29 million people around the world since the end of 2019, according to a report established by AFP on Saturday from official sources.

The United States is the most bereaved country with 796,765 dead, ahead of Brazil (616,691), India (475,128), Mexico (296,385) and Russia (288,351).

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the toll of the pandemic in the world could be two to three times higher.

burs-paj-kd / ber / clr

© 2021 AFP