Brussels speeds up vaccine deliveries to the EU

The European Commission announced on Sunday an agreement with the BioNtech and Pfizer groups to deliver 20 million additional doses of their anti-Covid vaccine to member states in the first half of 2022 in order to facilitate vaccination campaigns.

Israel places several European countries on red list

The Israeli government on Sunday banned its citizens from traveling to several European countries, including France, placed on the red list, and the United States could be added to it, in order to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

These restrictions on travel abroad, which already affected most African countries as well as Great Britain and Denmark, now also apply to Spain, Finland, France, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and also the United Arab Emirates.

The Netherlands confined

In the Netherlands where 86% of adults are vaccinated, all non-essential shops, restaurants, bars, cinemas, museums and theaters closed their doors on Sunday until January 14.

Schools must keep doors closed until January 9.

At the same time, the number of guests that people are allowed to receive in their homes is reduced to two, except for Christmas, as well as the day before and the day after this day of December 25, and for the New Year period, when it will be four. .

The Omicron variant detected in Iran

The first case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was detected in Iran, where an emergency meeting was held in the presence of the Minister of Health to decide on specific measures to be implemented in order to prevent the spread of the variant .

Iran is particularly affected by the Covid-19 with 130,000 deaths.

The head of the Covid Committee on Sunday proposed the total closure of schools.

France: no extension of school holidays

An extension of the school holidays beyond January 3 is "not the preferred hypothesis" to curb the Covid epidemic and would only be decided in "last resort", declared the Minister of National Education Jean -Michel Blanquer.

Congo: Nguesso in solitary confinement

Congolese head of state Denis Sassou Nguesso, 78, went into solitary confinement after several people in his immediate circle tested positive for Covid-19.

The Congo recently lightened some measures to combat Covid-19, in particular authorizing the organization of weddings.

The country has recorded some 360 ​​deaths from Covid-19.

More than 5.34 million dead

The pandemic has killed at least 5,348,763 people worldwide since the WHO office in China reported the onset of the disease at the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources Sunday at 11:00 GMT.

Covid-19 in Europe AFP

The United States is the most bereaved country with 806,302 deaths, ahead of Brazil (617,754 deaths), India (477,422) and Mexico (297,835).

The WHO estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the results of the pandemic could be two to three times higher than that officially recorded.

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