The highly contagious Delta variant is causing epidemic outbreaks in several parts of the world. To limit its spread, several countries have chosen to strengthen the restrictions in place and to encourage or even force their inhabitants to be vaccinated.
The pandemic has killed at least 4 million people worldwide since the onset of the disease at the end of December 2019. The United States is the most affected country, with more than 607,000 deaths, followed by the Brazil (nearly 534,000), India (411,000), Mexico (235,000) and Peru (194,500). These figures, which are based on daily reports from national health authorities, are generally underestimated. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that deaths could be two to three times higher.
Tunisia on the red list in France
France has decided to classify Tunisia on its red list, due to the deterioration of health in the country. “The non-vaccinated will not be able to go there or come back without a compelling reason”, announced the government spokesman, Gabriel Attal, Tuesday July 13th. A negative Covid-19 test of less than 48 hours will be required for people coming to France, and ten days of isolation will be mandatory on arrival. According to Mr. Attal, offenders face a fine of 2,000 euros.
Tunisia has the death rate linked to Covid-19 ” The Strongest “ from across the African continent and the entire Arab world, alerted a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO). The country records “More than 100 deaths per day” for twelve million inhabitants, which is ” very much “, commented the Dr Yves Souteyrand, WHO representative in Tunisia. He added that the situation was likely to worsen in a country in need of aid and vaccines. Only 11% of the Tunisian population had one dose and 5% had two doses, which is “Far from what it would take to have a collective immunity effect”, estimates the Dr Souteyrand.
Among the twenty countries placed on the red list in France include most of South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia), those of the Indian subcontinent, Russia or the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, there are no plans to add Portugal and Spain to this list, the government spokesman said, despite incidence rates that can exceed 1,000 among young people in Catalonia.
Germany does not intend to make vaccination compulsory
Germany does not have ” the intention “ to make the anti-Covid-19 vaccination compulsory, Angela Merkel said on Tuesday. Unlike her French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, who announced the day before the vaccination obligation for caregivers, the German Chancellor is still betting on “Will” of the population and ” publicity “ in favor of vaccines. “I do not think that we can gain confidence by changing what we said, that is to say: no compulsory vaccination”, she said at a press conference at the Robert-Koch Institute for Public Health Surveillance.
“I can advertise as chancellor, with deep conviction, for a vaccination”, argued Mme Merkel, adding that as much “As many people as possible” could become ” vaccine ambassadors based on their own experience ”. Some 35.4 million people (42.6%) were fully vaccinated in Germany, and 48.6 million (58.5%) received a dose, detailed the Minister of Health, Jens Spahn, regretting that the tend to be “Slowdown” the rate of injections.
Hunger is worsening in the world
The pandemic has contributed to a surge in the number of hungry people in the world in 2020. It will have long-term effects on world food security, warned, Monday, July 12, the United Nations Agency for the agriculture and food (FAO).
This 18% worsening of hunger over one year, the largest in at least fifteen years, compromises more than ever the United Nations objective of eradicating hunger in the world by 2030, says the FAO. The international Covax partnership, which aims to guarantee access to vaccines for the poorest countries, will receive 110 million doses from Chinese laboratories Sinovac and Sinopharm.
More and more restrictions to contain the Delta variant
Russia announced on Tuesday that it had recorded a new record of daily deaths from the coronavirus with 780 dead, the sixth since the beginning of the month. The country is hit hard by the Delta variant, its previous record of 752 dead dating from Saturday, July 10. The country recorded nearly 25,000 new contaminations in twenty-four hours. The main foci are the capital, Moscow, and the country’s second city, St. Petersburg, where restrictive measures have been tightened in recent weeks.
In Malaysia, a Shah Alam Covid-19 vaccination center was closed on Tuesday, following the detection of more than 200 positive cases among its health workers, according to the authorities. None of them are suffering from severe symptoms, probably because almost all of the centre’s employees have been vaccinated, said the minister responsible for the vaccination campaign, Khairy Jamaluddin.
Like France, several European countries have introduced compulsory vaccination for certain categories of the population. Greece announced it on Monday for caregivers from 1er September, and Italy imposed it on doctors and health personnel, under penalty of sanctions for the recalcitrant. The United Kingdom announced it on June 16 for people working in English retirement homes.