Germany eases restrictions
End of access controls to shops and restaurants, return of the public to stadiums, reopening of nightclubs, Germany followed suit on Wednesday with its European neighbors and announced the gradual lifting of most restrictions against Covid-19.
Europe's biggest economy is embarking on a three-step easing plan aimed at removing "a large part of the restrictions currently in place" by March 20, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, after a meeting with leaders of the 16 regions from the country.
Back to almost normality in Switzerland...
Following in the footsteps of the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark, Switzerland is preparing to return to a certain normality, with the lifting of almost all measures.
Only the mask in public transport and health establishments and the isolation of the sick for 5 days are maintained until the end of March, the Federal Council (government) announced on Wednesday.
... and in Austria
Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced that "from March 5, many of the restrictions, which people complain about so much, will disappear".
No more need to show the vaccination pass at the entrance of hotels, restaurants, concerts and sporting events.
The curfew is also removed.
Spain: end of gauges in stadiums
Spain will remove gauges in sporting events from March 4 and stadiums will be able to accommodate the public at 100% of their capacity, as before the pandemic, health authorities announced on Wednesday.
Patients sleep outside the Caritas Medical Center in Hong Kong, facing an unprecedented wave of contamination with the Omicron variant, February 16, 2022 Peter PARKS AFP
France is considering the end of the mask
The French government has indicated that it is considering ending the wearing of masks indoors for adults and children "in mid-March", as well as a reduction in the vaccination pass on this date, if the circulation of the virus is "very low". .
Record new cases in New Zealand
New Zealand recorded a record number of infections on Wednesday (1,160 new cases).
Inspired by Canada's self-proclaimed "freedom convoys", anti-vaccine protesters continue to block the streets around Parliament in Wellington.
Canada: ultimatum to protesters
On the 20th day of the protest against sanitary measures in Ottawa, law enforcement was pressuring protesters in an attempt to dislodge them without using force, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying that the police now had the means to ensure that "it ends".
Demonstration against anti-Covid restrictions in front of the Canadian parliament in Ottawa, February 16, 2022 Ed JONES AFP
"You must leave the premises now. Anyone who blocks traffic lanes, or helps others to do so, is committing a criminal offense or may be arrested", is it written on a leaflet distributed to protesters on Wednesday, found a journalist from AFP.
UK to vaccinate 5-11 year olds
The United Kingdom will open the coronavirus vaccination program to children aged 5 to 11, local governments, responsible for health, have announced.
Vaccines: kit factories shipped to Africa
The German laboratory BioNTech, at the origin of the first mRNA vaccine against Covid-19 developed with Pfizer, unveiled on Wednesday mobile production units intended to be sent to Africa this year to manufacture the vaccine there.
More than 5.8 million dead
The pandemic has officially killed more than 5.8 million people worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP on Wednesday.
The world facing the coronavirus Simon MALFATTO AFP
In absolute value, the United States is the country with the most deaths (928,444), ahead of Brazil (640,774), India (509,872) and Russia (342,383).
Reported to the population, the countries where the epidemic has caused the most damage are Peru, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Hungary and North Macedonia.
The 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 established.
burs-paj-acm/ber/mba/alc/ybl
© 2022 AFP