Elizabeth II cancels her engagements

Queen Elizabeth II, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, canceled two videoconference hearings scheduled for Thursday and plans no further engagements this week, Buckingham Palace said.

The hearings will be postponed and the 95-year-old sovereign "continues to perform light duties", added the palace, without further specifying her state of health.

Chinese emergency aid to Hong Kong

The Hong Kong government urgently authorized doctors and nurses from mainland China on Thursday to come and practice on its territory, fearing to see its health system overwhelmed by the “enormous increase” in new cases of Covid-19.

Like mainland China, the island has adopted an extremely strict "zero-Covid" strategy, thanks to which it was largely spared the pandemic for two years, but the systematic placement in solitary confinement in units dedicated to infected patients, even asymptomatic ones, has overwhelmed hospitals with the arrival of the Omicron variant.

Taiwan to reopen to business travelers

Taiwan on Thursday unveiled its plan to reopen its borders to business travelers from March 7 and reduce quarantine for all arrivals, easing restrictions in one of the few places that, along with China, continue to follow a "zero-Covid" strategy.

The world facing the coronavirus Simon MALFATTO AFP

Calm in Canada, "convoy" in the United States

In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the end of emergency measures provided for in last week's emergency law to quell anti-sanitary measures protests that lasted three weeks.

In the United States, dozens of truckers and demonstrators opposed to the health measures implemented against Covid-19 formed a "convoy" in southern California on Wednesday which must cross the country to protest in Washington, 4,200 km away. of the.

Postponement of the vaccination pass in Guadeloupe

The prefect of Guadeloupe indicated on Wednesday evening that he was postponing the application of the vaccination pass in this island of the French West Indies at least to March 28, instead of March 7, but that the final decision would be fixed for mid-March, while the government plans to abolish this measure by the end of March or the beginning of April, which is meeting with strong local opposition.

The vaccination pass has been compulsory in France for certain activities since January 24.

But the law provides that the prefects can define a local timetable for entry into force when the circumstances justify it.

... and end of the vaccination obligation in New Caledonia

New Caledonia on Thursday repealed the vaccination obligation, which had been decided at the beginning of September for sensitive sectors and the general population in view of the "new health context".

Caledonian elected officials had already twice postponed the deadlines for the deliberation on the vaccination obligation, voted unanimously on September 3 in this French territory in the South Pacific.

- More than 5.91 million deaths

The pandemic has officially killed at least 5,914,829 people worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a report compiled by AFP from official sources Thursday at 11:00 GMT.

In absolute value, the United States is the country with the most deaths (941,908), ahead of Brazil (646,419), India (512,924) and Russia (348,578).

Among the hardest hit countries, Peru has the highest death toll relative to its population.

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