:format(jpg):watermark(cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ipmgroup/5IDEBLR7ERC5TMAPLOHS63MVNM.png,0,30,0)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ipmgroup/JDTXEFHVCJA4RLMMSTFTHUPVIE.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1 "Coronavirus around the world: Rome suspends collaboration on Sputnik vaccine, New Delhi lifts restrictions")
EUROPE
A diplomatic reception scheduled for Wednesday with Elizabeth II canceled
A diplomatic reception scheduled for Wednesday with Queen Elizabeth II, who tested positive for Covid-19 last Sunday, has been canceled on “advice” from the government, Buckingham Palace announced on Saturday, in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The Queen has accepted the advice of the Foreign Secretary that the diplomatic reception scheduled for Windsor on Wednesday March 2 should be postponed,” the palace said in a brief statement.
No reason was given for this decision, while the 95-year-old sovereign canceled several engagements this week because she was suffering from “mild” symptoms of Covid and the diplomatic services are very busy with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The slow ebb of the 5th wave continues in France
The epidemic ebb continued Friday in hospitals in France, with a further drop in the number of Covid-19 patients, but also in terms of contamination, according to daily figures published by Public Health France.
The decline of the fifth wave that began last fall, first carried by the Delta variant and then by its highly contagious successor Omicron, continues: 25,484 people infected with Covid-19 are currently hospitalized, i.e. 634 less than the day before.
Rome suspends collaboration on vaccine Sputnik
Lazio, the Rome region, announced on Friday that it was suspending its collaboration with Russia on the Sputnik-V vaccine against Covid due to the invasion of Ukraine.
“We are suspending cooperation regarding Sputnik because science must be at the service of peace and not of war,” said Lazio health official Alessio D’Amato, quoted by the daily La Repubblica.
ASIA
New Delhi lifts restrictions
The Indian capital New Delhi announced on Saturday the end of restrictions linked to the coronavirus after registering a drop in cases of contamination with the Omicron variant.
Local authorities in the Delhi region, which recorded 460 cases and two deaths on Friday, notably decided to lift the night curfew and allow restaurants to operate at full capacity.
Places of worship were also allowed to reopen. And from April 1, schools will no longer hold their lessons by videoconference.
– Mask: the United States relaxes its recommendations
The American health authorities largely relaxed their recommendations on Friday on wearing a mask, which will no longer be recommended indoors for a majority of the country’s inhabitants, including in many schools.
More than 5.92 million dead
The pandemic has officially killed at least 5,925,534 people worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Friday midday.
Asia is the only region to see its situation deteriorate this week, with 20% more contamination compared to the previous week.
In absolute value, the United States is the country with the most deaths (948,200), ahead of Brazil (648,496), India (513,226) and Russia (349,365).
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.
–
