No more isolation for contact cases in England
Despite the wave of Covid-19 contamination due to the Delta variant, vaccinated contact cases no longer have to isolate themselves from Monday in England, removing a major obstacle to economic recovery.
Building on the success of the vaccination campaign (more than three quarters of adults fully vaccinated), Boris Johnson’s government lifted almost all of the last restrictions in force in mid-July, such as wearing a mask, physical distancing or gauges in theaters.
Prolonged confinement in Melbourne
The confinement of Melbourne, Australia’s second city, was extended by two weeks on Monday, until September 2, and it will be accompanied by a curfew, authorities said in trying to stem a surge in Covid -19 due to the Delta variant.
Melbourne’s more than five million people will not be allowed to leave their homes between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. from Monday, except for people working in sectors deemed essential.
Chinese virologist accused
A scientist in China, on the front line in the management of the coronavirus epidemic, is the target of an investigation for plagiarism, after having publicly questioned the Chinese strategy to fight against Covid.
Zhang Wenhong, media expert in infectious diseases from Shanghai, had expressed his doubts at the end of July about the Chinese zero Covid strategy, believing that it was necessary rather “to learn to live with the virus”. These words, which seemed to call into question the success of national health management, had provoked a lively debate in the country.
Sri Lanka’s health minister impeached –
Sri Lanka’s health minister was dismissed on Monday for her management of the coronavirus epidemic in the country where the number of contaminations and deaths continues to increase.
In January, the minister had encouraged the consumption of a so-called “magic potion” against the virus, concocted by a wizard and which she herself had tasted publicly. She also performed a ceremony at the direction of a self-proclaimed god who claimed she could end the pandemic on the island by pouring “holy” water into a river.
Paralympics behind closed doors
The Tokyo Paralympic Games will be held in near total closed doors, the organizing committee announced on Monday eight days before the opening ceremony, due to record numbers of Covid-19 cases in Japan.
This measure for the Paralympic Games, which are to be held from August 24 to September 5, is similar to that adopted for the Olympics closed on August 8, for which nearly 98% of the events were held behind closed doors.
The vaccination pass in force in New York
The vaccine pass goes into effect this Monday in New York, the first major American city to have announced it: proof of vaccination will be required to go to a certain number of closed places such as restaurants, theaters or sports halls. sport.
A transition period is planned for this system called “Key to NYC” before the first checks in a month.
Hospitalizations still on the rise in France
The Covid-19 epidemic is still impacting hospitalizations in France, including critical care services, according to figures from health authorities released on Sunday.
The number of hospitalized patients is still on the rise, amounting to 9,798 (9,648 Saturday, 9,546 Friday), including 399 new admitted. Over the last seven days, some 5,200 new hospitalizations have occurred, against some 4,500 recorded in one week the previous weekend.
Memory of deaths in Iran
More than 600 deaths from Covid-19 have been recorded for the first time in Iran in the past 24 hours, authorities said on Sunday, a record coinciding with the imposition of new restrictions to stem the epidemic.
The authorities have decided to close administrations, banks and non-essential businesses throughout the country from Monday, until August 21 inclusive.
Car traffic between the provinces is also prohibited from Sunday until August 27.
Poland sells vaccines to Australia
Poland has sold one million doses of the anti-Covid Pfizer vaccine to Australia, as part of a “responsible policy of solidarity”, the Polish Ministry of Health announced.
According to the Minister, Adam Nedzieslki, the purchases of vaccines from Poland “allow us to meet the needs of our citizens but also to come to the aid of those who need it”.
Poland has already provided full vaccination to 55% of its population, but the vaccination rate has slowed significantly in recent months, with several vaccination centers closing due to low demand.
Congolese president urges vaccination
Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso called on his fellow citizens to massively adhere to vaccination against Covid-19 to achieve collective immunity, “the only way to salvation” in the fight against this pandemic.
In Congo, only 1.8 to 2% of the population eligible for vaccination received their doses, because of resistance and mistrust of vaccines.
Demonstration in Bangkok
Several thousand demonstrators marched by car or two-wheeler in Bangkok on Sunday to demand the resignation of Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-O-Cha, increasingly criticized for his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
In question, the outbreak of Covid-19, with more than 20,000 new cases daily, the slowness of the vaccination campaign and the economic impact of the restrictions.
More than 4.3 million dead
The pandemic has killed at least 4,353,003 people around the world since the end of December 2019, out of more than 206.7 million infections, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Sunday at 10:00 GMT.
The United States is the country with the most deaths (621,595), ahead of Brazil (569,058), India (431,225), Mexico (248,167) and Peru (197,340).
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 calculated from official figures.
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