19:20
This live is over
See you tomorrow to follow the evolution of the pandemic.
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18:57
The state of emergency will end on March 31 in Italy
The goal is to “reopen everything, as quickly as possible”, after more than two years of health crisis, said Council President Mario Draghi during a speech in Florence. Thus the state of emergency will end on March 31 in Italy. Third in the euro zone, the Italian economy has suffered greatly from the consequences of the health crisis and the containment measures imposed to fight against the virus. To date, 153,000 people infected with Covid have died. At the beginning of January, the Peninsula had recorded a record number of 220,000 contaminations in one day. Since then, the curve of new cases has fallen markedly, with just under 50,000 new positive cases on Wednesday.
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18:23
Positive cases in France: -35% in one week
Public Health France has identified 66,833 positive cases in 24 hours, compared to 98,735 last Wednesday. The average over the past week is 70,278 cases per day (-35% in one week).
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17:56
Iceland lifts final restrictions
Iceland will join the list of countries that have lifted all of their restrictions overnight from Thursday to Friday, despite a still large number of cases. “We are returning to normal life but the virus is still with us,” says Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir. She did not rule out having to impose new measures if the situation required it – for example with the appearance of a new variant. Our article to find out more.
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17:49
A relaxed “antivax” doctor
Prosecuted for asking children to take off their masks near a school and then broadcasting their photo, Denis Agret, a Montpellier doctor known for his opposition to vaccines against Covid-19, was released by the Montpellier Criminal Court. This 46-year-old general practitioner and emergency physician appeared in court as a whistleblower who wanted to “protect children”. He has several times tried to bring the debate to the medical level, forcing the judge to call him to order.
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“You are not being prosecuted for your ideas” but for “invasion of the privacy” of children and for “endangering others”, underlined the prosecutor, Lionel Sabater-Bono. After a deliberation of barely three minutes, the judge pronounced the acquittal on these two charges.
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17:38
In France, 213 new deaths in hospital
Public Health France lists 26,881 people diagnosed with Covid and hospitalized this Wednesday against 30,578 7 days ago. 2,753 of these patients are in critical care, compared to 3,126 last Wednesday.
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16:37
South Africa: a difficult economic recovery
The economy of Africa’s leading industrial power has suffered a sharp decline with the Covid crisis, according to the IMF. While GDP rebounded sharply in 2021, it has not returned to its pre-pandemic level and health restrictions have put all sectors in difficulty and aggravated unemployment, which is now record high at 35%, 65% among young people. .
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The Covid has also increased the difficulties of the poorest, half of the approximately 60 million South Africans now living on state aid. The economic recovery is all the more difficult as South Africa is experiencing endemic corruption, according to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.
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16:06
Declining incidence and positivity rates
The incidence rate and the positivity rate are clearly decreasing in France. They nevertheless remain at higher levels compared to previous peaks.
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15:53
Six Nations Tournament: Irishman Henderson forfeits
Irish second line Iain Henderson has tested positive for Covid-19 and will be out of the game against Italy on Day 3 of the Six Nations Tournament on Sunday.
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A PCR test has confirmed a positive antigen test from Monday evening, the Irish Rugby Federation explained. She clarified that the 30-year-old player has no symptoms.
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15:47
United Kingdom: major fraud and errors in aid linked to Covid-19
The British taxpayer is ‘exposed to substantial financial risk’ due to ‘unacceptable’ fraud and error in government aid packages linked to the pandemic, which are expected to reach at least 15 billion pounds (about 18 billion euros). euros), according to a parliamentary report. MEPs refer in particular to a partial unemployment program which could have generated losses of 5.3 billion pounds, or to fraud of nearly 5 billion pounds in emergency government loans to businesses.
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15:21
WHO expands access to mRNA vaccine technology to five countries
Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Serbia and Vietnam will be able to produce messenger RNA vaccines. These countries will benefit from the transfer of technology from the center set up by the WHO in South Africa.
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Last week, the UN organization had already designated six African countries to host their own production of mRNA vaccines.
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14:40
Covid-19 and flu
The flu epidemic in France has so far remained at levels well below those of previous years. But “in the context of a sharp decrease in the circulation of SARS-CoV2 and a possible lower adherence of the population to barrier measures, it is difficult to anticipate with certainty the dynamics of the circulation of influenza viruses in the coming weeks”, according to Public Health France.
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13:37
Global vaccine supply exceeds demand: a first
In January, 436 million doses of vaccine were available under the Covax scheme, according to a report in mid-February. However, the poorest countries have only requested 100 million doses to be distributed by the end of May. It is the transport (particularly the cold chain) and the lack of infrastructure that now pose problems, according to le site du mirror.
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13:03
“The right decisions at the right time”
Questioned by a journalist, Gabriel Attal again defended the government’s health policy. “This winter a lot of Europeans couldn’t celebrate Christmas with their families, couldn’t travel around their country, couldn’t go to a restaurant or a bar. They were confined or had a curfew. We did not have all of this in France, because we took the right measures at the right time and in particular the health pass, ”said the spokesperson.
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12:48
“Serenity and determination”
“The lifting of the measures is done gradually, calmly and without waiting a single day too long when the epidemic allows it. We are more optimistic and more confident than ever about the way out of this health crisis and we are moving forward with serenity and determination towards a life without restrictions,” concludes Gabriel Attal.
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12:44
Next step: lifting the pass
“The more the virus recedes, the more the lifting of restrictions advances”, adds Gabriel Attal, citing in particular the reduction of the health protocol at school. “The next step should be the lifting of the vaccination pass and the obligation to wear a mask indoors. “Measures that could arrive “in mid-March”, according to “projections of the Institut Pasteur”.
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12:41
“The peak of the wave further and further behind us”
The situation in the hospital is also improving. “There are 400 critical care patients and 3,500 people hospitalized less than a week ago,” recalls Gabriel Attal. “In just over two weeks the number of hospital admissions has been halved and, above all, the R0 is now significantly lower than 1, which proves that the peak of the epidemic wave is more further behind us. »
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12:35
Minutes of the Council of Ministers
“The trend is confirmed week after week: the health horizon is clearing up a little more every day and the epidemic collapse continues”, underlines government spokesman Gabriel Attal, who specifies that the number of cases has decreased by 40. % in one week and that the incidence rate is now “significantly below” 1000.
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12:18
Antibodies and school
According to an analysis by the Office for National Statistics, almost four in five children of primary school age in the UK now have antibodies capable of providing some protection against Covid. “The estimates, which relate to children aged 8 to 11, reach 82.0% in England and Scotland, and 79.7% in Wales. Northern Ireland has a slightly lower figure of 72.2%,” the AP news agency said.
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12:05
BA.2 should not restart the epidemic
According to the Institut Pasteur, the BA.2 variant should only have a limited impact on the epidemic, at least until April 1. It “seems crushed by the wave of BA.1 which preceded it”, indicates epidemiologist Simon Cauchemez. It should “slow down the decrease in cases, without however generating a significant epidemic rebound”, notes the Institut Pasteur in a report published on Tuesday and which we detail here.
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11:53
More than 14 000 “ghost flights” from the UK
These “ghost flights”, which refer to international flights in which no more than 10% of the seats were occupied, took off from 32 airports between March 2020 and September 2021, according to a government analysis. Heathrow recorded the most with 4,910 flights, followed by Manchester (1,548 flights) and Gatwick (1,044 flights).
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11:38
What will the Novavax vaccine really be used for?
1.1 million doses of the fifth vaccine authorized in France will be delivered this week and partly sent to overseas territories, where vaccination coverage is lower. But the ambient discourse on the imminent end of the vaccine pass could discourage some. Our article to read here.
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11:24
Help North Korea
A UN human rights expert has called on the international community to provide millions of doses of vaccines to North Korea, where “draconian” health measures have worsened the food crisis. Since closing its borders in 2020 to protect itself from the coronavirus, North Korea has been a more reclusive country than ever.
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11:10
An antivax doctor tried in Montpellier
Denis Agret, a former emergency doctor who resigned from his post in September 2021 in protest against health policy, will appear at 2 p.m. before the Montpellier Criminal Court for “endangering the lives of others”. “He wanted to take a picture of children in the street without the mask asking them to smile, a photo published on social networks,” his lawyer explained to Sud Radio.
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11:04
South Korea approves vaccine for children
Health officials have approved Pfizer’s vaccine for ages 5-11, expanding the country’s immunization program in the face of a massive Omicron outbreak. A record 171,452 new cases were recorded on Wednesday.
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