While he normally finds himself every three months, the UN emergency committee decided to take 15 days ahead of schedule to address the crucial issue of new variants of the coronavirus yesterday.
Particularly contagious, the British and South African variants are swarming: 50 countries and territories have detected the strain initially spotted in Britain and 20 have reported the South African variant, according to the WHO, for whom this assessment is probably underestimated .
Guyana, Mayotte and Réunion under surveillance
A third mutation originating in the Brazilian Amazon, the discovery of which Japan announced on Sunday, is being analyzed and could affect the immune response, indicates the WHO, citing “a worrying variant”.
On this subject, the Minister of Overseas, Sébastien Lecornu, announced yesterday an upcoming strengthening of measures in the ultra-marine territories, in particular in the islands of the Indian Ocean and in Guyana. “Unfortunately, we are going to have to toughen things up for Guyana” he indicated, referring to the possibility of a strict curfew on Sunday “. Control at the Guyanese border will also be reinforced, as well as control of flights to Mayotte and Reunion if the South African variant of Covid-19 is detected in neighboring Comoros.
To face the new threat, countries which have the means are trying to speed up vaccination, even if it means doing so to the detriment of less well-armed countries. Thus, the WHO, has again called yesterday for “solidarity”, deploring that 95% of the doses were used in only ten countries.
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