LIVE – Covid: England reopens its shops and terraces

The information to remember:

> Vaccination possible for people over 55 from this Monday in France

> Dose spacing for messenger RNA vaccines

> Major step in England with the reopening of shops

–

>>> Follow the news of this Monday April 12th live:

> Bangladesh will close its offices and transport for eight days

Bangladesh authorities have ordered the closure of international and national offices and transport for eight days from Wednesday. The South Asian country, with a population of 160 million, has recorded 684,756 cases and 9,739 deaths, as new daily infections have increased sevenfold and daily deaths have more than doubled in the past month.

> India overtakes Brazil in number of cases

India recorded 168,912 new cases of coronavirus contamination in one day, bringing the toll to 13.53 million infections since the start of the health crisis. This now places India ahead of Brazil in the number of confirmed cases (13.45 million), behind the United States (31.2 million), the country most affected in the world by the coronavirus pandemic. The Indian Ministry of Health has also reported 904 additional deaths linked to Covid-19, for a toll of 170,179 dead.

> Self-tests available in French pharmacies

These additional tests can be purchased for 6 euros each. They will not be reimbursed, except for 600,000 home helpers and nursing assistants in contact with the elderly, with two nasal tests per person per week. They will also be used for massive screening operations.

> Pints ​​and combs for the English after a confined winter

Drink a beer on the terrace, go shopping, go to the hairdresser: the English are regaining precious freedoms on Monday. The United Kingdom, the most bereaved country in Europe with more than 127,000 deaths, is seeing its health situation improve sharply. It now has less than 3,000 cases and less than 50 deaths per day. Fewer than 3,000 patients with Covid-19 are treated in hospitals against nearly 40,000 at the peak in January.

He also vaccinates extensively: nearly 60% of the population has received a first dose, most of them under 50, the authorities expect to offer a first dose to all adults by the end of July. . This goal was maintained despite concerns raised about the possible risks of blood clots linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was ultimately reserved for over 30s as a precaution.

> Grandes écoles: start of the competition season in the midst of a pandemic

The competition season for the grandes écoles begins this Monday, with those of the Polytechnique and the École normale supérieure (ENS). The organizers call for “the responsibility” of the candidates. In most centers, “emergency rooms” will nevertheless be able to accommodate students with symptoms suggestive of Covid.

> China gives 200,000 doses of one of its anti-Covid vaccines to Cameroon

Cameroon has received a donation of 200,000 doses of the vaccine against Covid-19 developed by the Chinese firm Sinopharm. These will be used to launch the first phase of a vaccination plan by administering them in two injections to 100,000 people. “The government encourages the populations and in particular the priority targets […] to be vaccinated when the time comes, ”the Minister of Health, Malachie Manaouda, wrote in a statement on April 9. Cameroon, a country of approximately 26 million inhabitants, is officially one of the most affected in Africa by the epidemic, with 61,700 cases recorded for 919 deaths.

> Australia no longer sets a vaccination target

Australia has abandoned its goal of vaccinating nearly all of its 26 million people against the coronavirus by the end of the year following its decision to recommend that people under the age of 50 receive the vaccine from Pfizer rather than AstraZeneca. “Although we would like to see these doses delivered before the end of the year, it is not possible to set such targets due to the many uncertainties present,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Facebook.

> Venezuela will produce a Cuban vaccine

Venezuela will produce a Cuban anti-Covid vaccine, up to two million doses per month from August, President Nicolas Maduro announced on Sunday. “We have signed an agreement to produce in our laboratories […] two million doses per month of the Abdala vaccine, around August, September ”, declared on television the Head of State, of which Cuba is a close ally.

The president also announced that his country would participate in phase 3 clinical trials of this vaccine candidate, with which Havana had already started to vaccinate 124,000 health workers at the end of March as part of a large-scale test among populations in risk.

> Germany passes the threshold of 3 million infections

The total number of infections since the start of the pandemic stands at exactly 3.011 million in Germany, 13,245 more than the day before, according to the national health watch authority (RKI), while the number of deaths s’ establishes at 78,452. In addition, the national incidence rate over the last 7 days, particularly monitored by the authorities, stands at 136.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, above the threshold triggering in principle a tightening of restrictions.

In this context, Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke out again over the weekend in favor of a strict form of national reconfinement for a fairly short period.

> Record of contamination in the most populous province of Canada

The most populous province in Canada, Ontario, on Sunday recorded more than 4,400 new infections with Covid-19. Faced with the increase in infections, the premier of the province, Doug Ford, decided last week to close non-essential businesses for a month and order residents to stay at home.

Quebec for its part recorded on Sunday 1,535 new cases of Covid-19 and 5 deaths, bringing to 10,742 deaths the heavy toll of the French-speaking province since the start of the pandemic. Last week Quebec Prime Minister François Legault announced that the curfew in Montreal would be brought forward from 9:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. as part of preventive measures aimed at curbing the spread. Sunday, a few hundred people demonstrated against the introduction of this new measure.

> Vaccination extended to over 55s

All French people aged 55 and over will be eligible for vaccination from today. They will be able to benefit from the AstraZeneca vaccine and soon from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, French Minister of Health Olivier Véran announced in the “Journal du dimanche”. To speed up vaccination, the injection interval for the 2nd dose will be extended for Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, currently reserved for over 70s or people with co-morbidities, the minister also announced.

> Brazil: half of intensive care patients are under 40

The majority of Brazilians suffering from Covid in intensive care are now under 40, revealed the coordinator of a study from the Brazilian Association of Intensive Care (AMIB).

Those under 40 infected with the coronavirus in intensive care, now numbering more than 11,000, became the majority (52.2%) in March, said AMIB study coordinator Dr. Ederlon Rezende. They were only 14.6% at the start of the pandemic a year ago, then 45% between September and February, according to the same study.

> France: ICU admissions still on the rise

The number of patients with Covid and treated in critical care services in France stood at 5,838 on Sunday against 5,769 the day before, according to data published by the health authorities.

176 additional deaths in hospitals were recorded in 24 hours to reach 72,626, the total number of deaths in the country since the start of the epidemic reaching 98,750. The number of new cases of infection identified in 24 hours by France is also 34,895 Sunday against 43,284 Saturday.

–