With Omicron, end of "plausible" pandemic in Europe (WHO)

The Omicron variant, which could infect 60% of Europeans by March, has started a new phase of the Covid-19 pandemic in the region and could bring it closer to its end, the director of WHO Europe estimated on Sunday.

"It is plausible that the region is approaching an end to the pandemic," Hans Kluge told AFP, calling however for caution because of the versatility of the virus.

An entire district preventively screened in Beijing

The city of Beijing intends to screen all the inhabitants of a district of around two million inhabitants, in the district of Fengtai, on Sunday, after the discovery of an epidemic focus, less than two weeks before the start of the Olympic Games. winter in the Chinese capital.

Since last weekend, around forty cases of Covid have been identified in Beijing, the majority are of the Delta strain.

A man tested for Covid-19 in Beijing, January 21, 2022 Jade GAO AFP

Belgium: clashes during an anti-sanitary pass demonstration

Clashes opposed the police and opponents of restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic in Brussels on Sunday, during a demonstration which brought together tens of thousands of people.

According to the authorities, around 50,000 people marched in the Belgian capital, some from other European countries.

This is the biggest in a series of protests in the city in recent months.

Australian Open: Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck positive

Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck announced on Sunday that she tested positive for Covid-19 before leaving Australia after her elimination from the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, becoming the second player to do so after Frenchman Ugo Humbert.

- More than 5.58 million dead

The Covid-19 pandemic has killed at least 5,589,818 people worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a report compiled by AFP from official sources on Sunday at 11:00 GMT.

In absolute terms, the countries with the most deaths are the United States (865,968), Brazil (622,801), India (489,409) and Russia (326,112).

The World Health Organization 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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© 2022 AFP