Questions about a sub-variant of Omicron

A sub-variant of Omicron, which appeared a few weeks ago, is being closely scrutinized by scientists.

Called BA.2, this sub-variant has been spotted in several countries around the world, especially in Europe.

"For what we know for the moment, it more or less corresponds to the characteristics that we know of Omicron" and it does not "change the game" at this stage, estimated the French Minister of Health Olivier Véran.

Certain data from this sub-variant, however, attract attention: it would have become the majority in Denmark, where the number of daily cases has started to rise again for a few days.

France: easing of restrictions in February

The French government announced Thursday evening the lifting, in February, of most of the restrictions taken to curb the epidemic: end of wearing a mask outdoors and compulsory teleworking, reopening of nightclubs and return of standing concerts.

Covid-19: developments in the world AFP

Prime Minister Jean Castex added that he was "considering" a relaxation of the health protocol in schools after March 7.

Nearly 19,000 classes were closed on Thursday due to the epidemic, according to figures released Friday by the Ministry of National Education.

India: supervision of self-test sales

The explosion in sales of Covid self-tests has led the Indian authorities to regulate the sale of these kits in order to have a more precise idea of ​​the number of inhabitants infected at a time when the number of cases is soaring across the country.

India has recorded more than 1.8 million contaminations over the past seven days, an increase of 74% compared to the previous week, according to a report established by AFP.

Hong Kong: campaign to eliminate pets

The Hong Kong government on Friday asked animal friends not to hinder the ongoing culling of hundreds of small mammals decided after hamsters tested positive for Covid-19.

The slaughter of some 2,000 small animals, mainly hamsters but also chinchillas, rabbits, guinea pigs, was ordered by the authorities as a "precaution" after the appearance of positive cases of Covid in a pet Shop.

Adele postpones her concerts in Las Vegas

British singer Adele announced on Thursday the indefinite postponement of her series of shows in Las Vegas, due in particular to cases of Covid in her team on the eve of the first performance.

“Half of my team is (sick) from the Covid and it was impossible to finalize the show. I am disgusted”, explained the singer.

Surge in weekly cases in Asia and Latin America

The Covid-19 pandemic has flared up in Asia (+57%), in the Latin America/Caribbean zone (+36%) and in the Middle East (+32%), according to weekly developments taken from the database of the AFP.

The areas where the Omicron variant hit first are on the contrary experiencing a lull, like Africa (-10%), the United States/Canada area (-6%) and, to a lesser extent, Europe (+9%) where new cases are increasing less quickly than in previous weeks.

Covid-19: global assessment AFP

More than 5.57 million dead

The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed at least 5.57 million lives worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a report compiled by AFP from official sources on Friday at 11:00 GMT.

In absolute terms, the countries with the most deaths are the United States (860,248), Brazil (622,205), India (488,396) and Russia (324,752).

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 could be two to three times higher than that officially recorded.

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