In the midst of the coronavirus epidemic, the possibility of a second wave is increasingly worrying in France, where the latest death toll stands at 30,429 deaths. As a result, the government has imposed the strengthening of health measures and is considering in particular the generalization of the wearing of a mask in business. Globally, the Covid-19 has killed at least 770,429 people.
> 493 new cases were registered on Monday August 17
> Emmanuel Macron calls on the French to be vigilant and to be united “in the face of a virus which is accelerating”.
> The opening match of Ligue 1 between OM and Saint-Etienne is postponed after the confirmation of several cases in the Marseille squad.
19h46
2,238 new cases of coronavirus were recorded in 24 hours in France, according to the report communicated by Public Health France on Tuesday evening.
In total, 4,823 patients with Covid-19 are hospitalized, 102 less than on Monday. Among them, 380 are treated in intensive care (against 384 Monday). In 24 hours, 17 additional deaths were recorded. The total death toll has risen to 30,451 since the start of the epidemic.
18h07
The Lebanese authorities have decreed a reconfinement lasting more than two weeks from Friday after a sharp rise in contamination with the new coronavirus.
A daily curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time will also be imposed, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday, as the country has officially recorded a total of 9,758 cases so far, including 107 deaths. Beirut international airport, however, will operate normally and neighborhoods affected by the August 4 explosion at the port of Beirut will be excluded from the restriction measures, according to the same source. The clearing, reconstruction and assistance to the population can continue in the devastated areas.
The re-containment will last until September 7. During this period, ministries and public institutions will remain open, with only 50% of civil servants, according to the ministry. In the past two weeks, Lebanon has recorded record rates of contamination, including a new peak on Monday, with 456 cases and two deaths. Health Minister Hamad Hassan has warned that hospitals in Beirut are now overwhelmed with patients with Covid-19 disease and large numbers of injured from the blast at the port. The country is “on the brink,” he said.
At the end of July, the Lebanese authorities had announced a temporary two-stage containment, but the second phase had been canceled due to the gigantic explosion that killed 177 people and injured more than 6,500 others. This disaster comes on top of an unprecedented economic crisis amplified by the new coronavirus which had already damaged the hospitals of the small country of more than four million inhabitants.
16h34
The race for the cure continues. A Chinese vaccine against the new coronavirus will soon be tested in Pakistan, a country characterized by high contagion but low mortality from the disease, Pakistani authorities said on Tuesday.
The vaccine, developed by the Chinese laboratory CanSinoBio and the Chinese Institute of Biotechnology in Beijing, is already in the third phase of clinical trials (on a large sample of humans, Editor’s note) in China, Russia, Chile and Argentina , a country that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are preparing to join, the Pakistani National Institute of Health (NIH) said.
“This will be the first time that the third phase of clinical trials will be in Pakistan”, commented in a statement the NIH, for which the participation in these trials “will ensure in Pakistan a preferential access and a price to the vaccine”.
The testing campaign will be carried out in several medical establishments, including Indus Hospital in Karachi. “We hope that the vaccine will be available in three to four months,” its director, Abdul Bari, told AFP. The coronavirus has killed 6,000 people in Pakistan, a country of more than 200 million people where mortality from the disease has been very low. Nearly 290,000 people have tested positive for the virus, a figure that is greatly underestimated according to experts interviewed by AFP. The number of cases has been falling sharply for several weeks.
16h20
In Morocco, new restrictions have been put in place by the authorities due to the resurgence of the epidemic.
Around Rabat, several beaches were closed on Tuesday, with the establishment of roadblocks and restricted hours for shops, due to the resurgence of the epidemic of the new coronavirus in Morocco, we learned from local authorities. Moroccan. These new measures were taken before a long bank holiday weekend, the beaches in question experiencing particularly strong crowds. The beaches in the Moroccan capital and in Salé, a neighboring town, were already closed, according to the same source.
In addition, two districts of Casablanca, the economic capital of the country, have been cordoned off since Monday. Some shops, local markets and cafes are closed. Neighborhoods in large Moroccan cities such as Marrakech, Tangier, Fes or Rabat have already been reconfigured. Movement is strictly controlled there and the police patrol to encourage the population to wear masks and to respect physical distancing measures.
The kingdom has known since the end of July a worrying increase in Covid-19 infections, with more than 1,000 new cases recorded every day. The latest report from the Ministry of Health reports 43,558 cases of contamination, including 681 deaths. Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of this “upward trend” in cases in Morocco since the lifting, in June, of a very strict three-month lockdown.
Much criticized in the media and on social networks for his management of the health crisis, the Moroccan Minister of Health Khalid Ait Taleb announced Monday that the country would participate in clinical trials to “obtain vaccines in sufficient quantity (.. .) and ensure the transfer of knowledge in order to guarantee self-sufficiency ”of production.
15h36
Wearing a mask will be made compulsory in companies from September 1, 2020. Only people working in individual offices will be able to do without. This was announced by the Minister of Labor Elisabeth Borne to the social partners during a meeting organized on Tuesday, August 18.
“It is necessary to systematize the wearing of masks in all workspaces which are closed and shared”, such as “meeting rooms, corridors, changing rooms, open spaces”, indicated the minister. It relies on the High Council for Public Health (HCSP) and thus takes into account the risk of the spread of Covid-19 by aerosols (fine droplets suspended in the air exhaled by patients). Considered as “personal safety equipment”, the cost of the mask, surgical or fabric, is the responsibility of the employer. Previously, its wearing was recommended in business when the distance meter – a measure that remains – was not technically possible. In addition, specific measures, to be defined, will be applicable for the accommodation of seasonal workers and slaughterhouses, which turned out to be sources of contamination this summer, told AFP, Yvan Ricordeau, of the CFDT, present at this meeting which took place by videoconference. “Meetings will start next week,” he said, showing satisfaction with the widespread use of masks in business. This measure will be recorded “in the coming days” in a “national protocol to ensure the health and safety of workers in the period of Covid-19”, with a view to application for “the end of August”, further explained the minister. . Depending on health trends and the types of business premises, this measure may be subject to “exemptions” after consultation with the health authorities. Regarding teleworking, “we will stay on the rules of today: telework recommended in areas where the virus is actively circulating,” said the Minister.
12h08
The prefecture of Oise has made it compulsory, until September 7, to wear a mask throughout the department for any public gathering of more than 10 people.
12h00
The opening match of League 1, between Marseille and Saint-Etienne, initially scheduled for this Friday, is postponed to mid-September, confirms the Professional Football League.
The LFP’s decision follows the announcement by the OM of three new cases of Covid-19 contamination.
09h41
Olympique de Marseille has confirmed three cases of Covid-19 within the club. OM specifies having “transmitted all the elements to the LFP”, which may decide on a possible postponement of the opening match of the league season 1 scheduled for Friday against Saint-Etienne.
Following the tests carried out on Monday, no new cases of #COVID19 was not revealed, but Sunday’s 3 suspected cases have been confirmed.
The club transmitted all the elements to the @LFPfr. pic.twitter.com/jUU0uJL2wD
– Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) August 18, 2020
08h25
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has been infected with the new coronavirus, the Russian Prime Minister announced.
06h00
The question of wearing a mask in companies must be decided on Tuesday. The Ministry of Labor must indeed announce to the social partners new measures, in particular “the compulsory wearing of a mask” in certain situations.
02h48
Thousands of Argentines have demonstrated in Buenos Aires and in several other major cities against the confinement imposed by the government to fight against the coronavirus, at a time when Argentina is experiencing a sharp rise in contamination. The rally in Buenos Aires, called on social networks and supported by the opposition to President Alberto Fernandez, took place after the government announced on Friday the extension until August 30 of containment measures in the metropolitan area of the capital , which concentrates 90% of the cases recorded in Argentina.
00h15
After the Met and the Whitney Museum, MoMA: the famous Museum of Modern Art in New York has announced that it will reopen its doors on August 27.
–
