[En continu] The pandemic is receding everywhere except in Asia

The essential

In India, the capital New Delhi announced the end of restrictions on Saturday. The night curfew is lifted, restaurants can operate at full capacity, places of worship are reopening.

find our follow-up of the day on Saturday.

■ End of restrictions in the Philippines

The Philippines will lift most restrictions in the capital Manila and 38 other regions on March 1, the President’s spokesman Rodrigo Duterte said, after a sharp drop in infections and an increase in the number of people vaccinated.

This statement comes a few weeks after the country reopened its borders to foreign tourists and as the campaign for the presidential election on May 9 intensifies.

Businesses, government agencies and public transport will be allowed to operate at full capacity when the city of thirteen million people is placed on the lowest alert level on March 1, Duterte’s spokesman said. , Karlo Nograles. Masks will still have to be worn in public places but will no longer be mandatory for playing sports.

■ A meeting 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 evening, 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.

■ In pictures: makeshift hospitals, it’s not over

In the wake of the figures of the week and the push in Asia (read below), we discover these images from a photo agency on Saturday, which show the construction of emergency hospital modules on the Tsing Yi site, in Hong Kong.

■ The pandemic has receded everywhere this week, except in Asia

The AFP agency has drawn up its weekly report. Daily contaminations have been halved since their peak reached a month ago (3.37 million during the week of January 21 to 27). Until Friday, only Asia saw its situation deteriorate, with 20% more contamination compared to the previous week.

The situation is clearly improving in all the other regions: -39% in the Middle East, -37% in the United States/Canada zone, -24% in Africa and in the Latin America/Caribbean zone, -20% in Europe and -12% in Oceania.

■ Greater Rome renounces Sputnik

Lazio, the region of Rome, announced at the end of the week 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. The Republic.

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