[En continu] Guy Parmelin dedicates Sick Day to patients with covid-19

The essential

Some 4000 people opposed to measures to combat the coronavirus have manifested saturday to Boiler.

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our follow-up of the day on Saturday

■ Vaccinated when he was not entitled, a mayor resigns in Sicily

The mayor of the Sicilian village of Corleone announced on Sunday that he was resigning from his post after being vaccinated against Covid-19 without being a priority, a privilege that the police are investigating.

“I spent a sleepless night thinking about this decision and concluded that it was right that I resign,” Nicolo Nicolosi, 78, told ANSA news agency.

“Even if I insist on the fact that I made the right choice by being vaccinated as well as the municipal councilors”, added the mayor of this small town located near Palermo, historic stronghold of the Mafia whose name goes back to the mythical saga of the “Godfather”, signed Francis Ford Coppola.

Italian media reported on Saturday that the police were investigating the city councilor and other members of his council, and had reported the case to the local prosecutor’s office. The city of Corleone confirmed on its Facebook account that its chief magistrate had indeed received two doses of the vaccine in January. Italy began its vaccination campaign at the end of December, reserving the first doses for health workers and people over 80 years old.

But Nicolo Nicolosi argued that local politicians like him also needed immediate protection from the virus, as frontline workers serving their fellow citizens. His vaccination was “a conscious choice made to prevent any contact with the virus from forcing him to give up his post in the middle of a battle,” argued the city of Corleone.

Some 5.3 million doses of the vaccine have so far been administered in Italy and 1.6 million people have received two injections, out of a population of 60 million, the health ministry said.

■ According to Olivier Véran, “adherence” to vaccination is rising among caregivers

The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, put forward on Sunday a “craze which is mounting among caregivers” to be vaccinated against Covid-19, immediately excluding any vaccination obligation for these professionals.

After a visit to a vaccination center in Boulogne-sur-Mer, the minister said he was “convinced that the rate of adherence to the vaccination of caregivers will join the general rate of the French to vaccination”.

In a letter released Friday, he called on caregivers to be vaccinated “quickly” in the name of “collective security”.

The seven orders of health professions echoed this call in a statement made public Sunday, calling “with one voice all caregivers to be vaccinated” against Covid-19, stressing that it is of an “ethical duty” to “curb the spread of the epidemic”.

Asked about a proposal by the LREM deputy of Pas-de-Calais, Jean-Pierre Pont, to make vaccination compulsory for caregivers, the minister deemed this approach “legitimate”, but indicated to favor “for the moment dialogue and conviction”.

He welcomed the fact that the “exceptional effort” made this weekend to speed up vaccinations throughout France had made it possible to carry out 220,000 injections on Saturday “against 80,000-85,000 usually on Saturdays”. “I hope there will be at least more than 100,000 today,” he added.

■ The results of the pandemic in the world

The novel coronavirus pandemic has killed at least 2,588,597 worldwide since the WHO office in China reported the onset of the disease at the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP from from official sources Sunday at 11:00 GMT.

More than 116,415,200 cases of infection have been officially diagnosed since the start of the epidemic. The vast majority of patients recover, but a still poorly evaluated part retains symptoms for weeks or even months.

The United States is the most affected country in terms of both deaths and cases, with 524,362 deaths for 28,952,953 cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University count.

After the United States, the most affected countries are Brazil with 264,325 deaths and 10,938,836 cases, Mexico with 190,357 deaths (2,125,866 cases), India with 157,756 deaths (11,210,799 cases) , and the United Kingdom with 124,419 deaths (4,213,343 cases).

Among the hardest hit countries, the Czech Republic is the one with the highest number of deaths in relation to its population, with 203 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Belgium (192), Slovenia (187), the United Kingdom (183) and Montenegro (169).

■ Sick Day dedicated to victims of the coronavirus

The President of the Confederation Guy Parmelin is dedicating the Day of the sick, this Sunday, March 7, in particular to patients with covid-19 or who suffer from the after-effects of this infection. To their relatives, he expresses his sympathy.

The covid-19 pandemic is “the greatest societal challenge since World War II,” said the President of the Confederation in the written text of his televised address. It has claimed many lives and has taken a heavy toll on our lives.

The current situation demands a lot of strength and endurance, especially on the part of vulnerable people, but also of young people, to whom great efforts are required. At the same time, the pandemic has shattered many professional or private projects and is subjecting the population to painful isolation, underlines Guy Parmelin.

The Federal Councilor also thanks the doctors and nursing staff, placed under extreme pressure, for their unwavering commitment.

This year, the motto of the Day of the Sick is “Vulnerable but combative”. The pandemic has shown how disarmed our society can be. But the Federal Council is doing everything it takes to keep it combative.

■ First cases in New Caledonia

Nine first cases of Covid-19 were detected on Sunday in New Caledonia where strict confinement of two weeks was announced by the president of the local government and the High Commissioner of the Republic.

These cases were identified during investigations carried out due to the detection the day before in the neighboring archipelago of Wallis and Futuna of the first indigenous case.

■ Delivery of the Covid, China vaccinates without emergency

Chinese who do not feel any urgency because the epidemic is under control at home, production capacities still modest and a “vaccine diplomacy” which diverts doses abroad: vaccination begins timidly in China.

At this rate, the Asian giant, yet at the forefront of vaccine development, could see developed countries achieve collective immunity and reopen their borders before it – almost an affront.

According to a survey by the Ipsos institute, the Chinese are among the most eager to be vaccinated (85%), far ahead of the Americans (71%), the French (57%) or the Russians (42%). But the wait-and-see attitude dominates for the moment.

“I am waiting to see if there are any side effects first,” Shirley Shi, a human resources manager in Beijing, told AFP. “And then the epidemic is under control in China and I do not plan to travel abroad. So I don’t need a vaccine right away, ”she explains.

With only two deaths since May and a life that has returned to near-normal, the Chinese strategy is “very effective and gives a feeling of security to the population”, notes Mathieu Duchâtel, director of the Asia program at the Institut Montaigne in Paris.

“The sense of urgency that exists in the West […] is not present in China, ”he emphasizes. China has already administered more than 52 million doses, which places it second in the world behind the Americans.

But the country is far behind in percentage of doses administered per 100 inhabitants: less than four, against 25 in the United States and 33 in the United Kingdom. A situation that may surprise in a country known for its capacity for mobilization and which has already firmly imposed confinements, screenings and quarantines since last year.

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