Police take back control of Ottawa
Canadian police almost regained control of central Ottawa on Sunday, paralyzed for 24 days by truckers opposing the government's health policy.
The authorities said they had arrested 190 demonstrators and towed around 50 vehicles, which for weeks sounded their horns in this city usually known for its calm.
Elizabeth II infected
Queen Elizabeth II, 95, has tested positive for Covid-19 but has only "mild" symptoms comparable to those of a cold, Buckingham Palace announced on Sunday.
Queen Elizabeth II during a reception at her residence in Norfolk, February 5, 2022 Joe Giddens POOL/AFP/Archives
The monarch, who has just passed the milestone of 70 years of reign, had met her son Prince Charles on February 8, two days before he tested positive.
According to British media, the queen, who will turn 96 on April 21, is triply vaccinated.
'Fortress Australia' reopens
Australia has reopened its external borders to all vaccinated tourists, almost two years after imposing some of the toughest travel restrictions in the world to combat the spread of Covid-19.
The huge island had closed its borders in March 2020, trying to take advantage of its insularity to protect itself from the pandemic.
During these two years, Australians were mostly not allowed to leave their country, and only a few visitors obtained an exemption to enter the territory.
Beijing has closed its Olympic parenthesis
Beijing concluded its Winter Olympics on Sunday during a ceremony in its famous "Bird's Nest", closing sixteen days of sporting exploits and a health bubble, before passing the baton to Milan and Cortina which will host the 2026 edition.
Despite a diplomatic boycott and an epidemic threat, China can boast of flawless organization despite "difficult circumstances" and somewhat cooled enthusiasm.
An agent disinfects the stands after the end of the men's freestyle skiing final during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Big Air Shougang in Beijing, February 9, 2022 SEBASTIEN BOZON AFP
Covid-19 obliges, athletes, organizers and journalists have been kept away from the population and subjected to screening tests daily.
Israel: border opening soon to non-vaccinated
Israel will reopen its borders to unvaccinated people from March 1, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Sunday, a first since the start of the pandemic.
All foreign visitors will be able to enter Israel, provided they take a PCR test before their departure and another on their arrival, Israeli citizens will only have to take it on arrival.
France: the lifting of restrictions maintained in mid-March
The wave of Covid-19 linked to the Omicron variant is in "collapse", but the next lifting of restrictions remains scheduled for "mid-March" because "there are still too many" patients in hospitals, the Minister of Health confirmed on Sunday. Health, Olivier Véran.
According to the latest figures from Public Health France, the number of positive cases stands at 86,000 on average over 7 days, down 76% since the peak reached on January 25.
But there are still 28,600 Covid patients in hospitals, including 2,900 in critical care.
Hong Kong in "battle mode"
Hong Kong, which is facing its worst wave of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, is in "combat mode", assured a senior city official on Sunday, who has received reinforcements from China to build two centers temporary quarantines intended to place nearly 10,000 people in solitary confinement.
Construction of a temporary isolation center to accommodate Covid-19 patients in Kai Tak, Hong Kong, February 20, 2022 Bertha WANG AFP
More than 5.87 million dead
The pandemic has officially killed at least 5,879,826 people worldwide since the end of December 2019, out of more than 421 million confirmed contaminations, according to a report established by AFP on Sunday midday.
The United States is the country with the most deaths (935,057), ahead of Brazil (643,880) and India (511,903).
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 established.
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© 2022 AFP