Coronavirus: update on the pandemic in the world

2021-12-14T02:58:06.995Z

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

Omicron: screwdriver in the UK

It is the "national duty" of every Briton: after having identified the very first death in Europe of the Omicron variant, the United Kingdom is working double on Monday to administer a booster dose of the vaccine against the Covid to all adults of 'by the end of December.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, entangled in a series of scandals over his management of the pandemic, must also face the anger of his majority on Tuesday during a vote on this turn of the screw operated against the variant Omicron.

China: first case of Omicron variant

China announced that it had detected its first case of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus, state media reported on Monday.

Authorities in the northeastern city of Tianjin spotted the variant in a person returning from abroad, without specifying which country it was, according to the Tianjin Daily.

Premier League: Manchester United - Brentford postponed

Manchester United's Premier League match against Brentford on Tuesday has been postponed due to the outbreak of a Covid-19 epidemic among Manchester players and employees, the club said.

- NFL: 37 players tested positive -

Thirty-seven professional American football league players contracted Covid-19 on Monday, ESPN reports, which is the NFL's highest number of positive cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic.

Denmark advances the 3rd dose

Denmark will anticipate the administration of the booster dose of Covid vaccines every over 40 years in order to curb the surge in the number of new contaminations and the spread of the Omicron variant.

The world facing the coronavirus Simon MALFATTO AFP

Danish health authorities expect the Omicron variant to become dominant in Copenhagen as early as this week.

France: risk of "rapid growth" of Omicron

The Omicron variant could experience "rapid growth in France" and its impact will be felt "in the coming weeks", the Scientific Council warned on Monday.

A few days before Christmas, major events "which could lead to giant clusters" must therefore "be avoided", urged the advisory body.

- Switzerland: plan to support drugs against Covid -

Switzerland launched on Monday a financial support program for the development of four drugs against Covid including two monoclonal antibodies, with local bio-pharmaceutical companies.

- Wall Street close lower -

The New York Stock Exchange finished lower on Monday, again concerned about the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, a little nervous also before the meeting of the American Central Bank (Fed).

The Dow Jones lost 0.89% to 35,650.95 points, the high-tech Nasdaq index, 1.39% to 15,413.28 points, and the extended S&P 500 index, 0.91% to 4,668.97 points.

More than 5.3 million dead

The pandemic has killed at least 5,304,397 million people worldwide since the end of 2019, according to an assessment established by AFP from official sources, Monday at 11:00 GMT.

Covid-19: AFP global report

The United States is the most bereaved country with 798,682 dead, ahead of Brazil (616,878), India (475,636), Mexico (296,672) and Russia (290,604).

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.

burx-jba-ot / ber / bds / nzg / roc