LIVE – Covid-19: the mask becomes mandatory in the streets of Paris from Friday

The mask is making a comeback in the streets of Paris. Faced with the high transmissibility of omicron, which has led to more than 200,000 contaminations in the last 24 hours, the mask will become mandatory again in Paris in all public spaces from this Friday, announced the Paris police headquarters in the evening, Thursday, December 29. An obligation that applies to people over 11 years old, but not to people practicing a sporting activity, nor to those who are behind the wheel of their car, and neither to cyclists or to two-wheeled drivers.

In Belgium, the government cancels the closure of cultural places which has been challenged in court. The Belgian government announced Wednesday that it was canceling its decision to close theaters, cinemas and performance halls taken to stem the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, after being disowned the day before by the courts. The Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, on Tuesday suspended the closure of “Closed places of the cultural sector”, following the summary appeal of a theater producer. The measure, announced last week by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, had provoked a rebellion in artistic circles.

Self-tests Covid: the monopoly of pharmacies not called into question “in the long term”. After taking the pharmacists by surprise on Tuesday, by allowing “exceptionally” the sale of self-tests in supermarkets, Mr. Véran tried to reassure a profession as surprised as it was against this decision. “It is a derogation, but in no case should it contravene in the long term the question of the pharmaceutical monopoly for medical devices”, he declared before the National Assembly Law Commission. “It’s a departure from a rule that is dear to me”, he insisted, explaining that he had proceeded by decree so that the measure “Be immediately applicable, because what counts is the period of December 31 and the days that will follow”, and affirming that this authorization “Will end at the latest at the end of january“.

the “Tsunami” of cases will cause health systems to collapse, warns WHO. the “Tsunami” of cases due to the omicron and delta variants of Covid-19 will drive healthcare systems to the brink of“collapse”, warned the World Health Organization on Wednesday. “I am very concerned that the more transmissible omicron circulating at the same time as delta is causing a tsunami of cases. This is and will continue to put immense pressure on an exhausted health workforce and health systems on the brink of collapse ”, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press conference.

Spain reduces quarantine for positive Covid cases. The Spanish government decided on Wednesday to reduce the duration of the quarantine of people positive for Covid-19 to seven days against ten previously, announced the Ministry of Health. According to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, this measure is intended to strike a balance between “public health” and “economic growth” at a time when the surge of the Omicron variant, as elsewhere, raises fears of destabilization of the economy.

Greece bans music in bars in view of the New Year. Faced with the outbreak of contaminations in Greece, the government announced Wednesday a new series of restrictions including the ban on music in bars and restaurants in an attempt to limit outings for the New Year. “The Omicron variant currently dominates and the public health system is under pressure”, warned Thanos Plevris, the Greek Minister of Health, in a televised message. In addition to this ban, restaurants and bars will no longer be able to accommodate tables of more than six people.

Denmark, the worst-affected country currently, smashes its daily record of Covid cases. Denmark, currently the country in the world with the most new cases of Covid-19 relative to its population, shattered its all-time high on Wednesday with 23,228 additional cases in 24 hours. However, this record is largely explained by a very large number of PCR tests carried out after Christmas, the rate of positive tests remaining almost stable, at 12.3%, according to data from the health authorities. Read also: Overview of global responses to the omicron variant

The threshold of 200,000 daily contaminations crossed in France. Hearing this Wednesday by the National Assembly, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, announced that 208,000 new cases of Covid-19 had been recorded in France in the last 24 hours. A new record, four days after the threshold of 100,000 per day, exceeded Saturday for the first time since the start of the pandemic on the territory, in March 2020. These figures “Make you dizzy”, commented the Minister of Health, calling the omicron variant a “tsunami”.

Three weeks of curfew in Reunion. From Saturday January 1 and for three weeks, a curfew between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. will be in force in Reunion, announced this Wednesday the prefect of the island, Jacques Billant. This measure, intended to fight against the spread of the omicron variant, is accompanied by new restrictions: ban on events in the public space – except political and religious – ban on private gatherings in village halls, reinstatement of gauges in establishments receiving from the public. Prime Minister Jean Castex announced Monday the restoration of the state of health emergency on the island until March 31.

Dembélé, Umtiti and Gavi, three more cases of Covid at Barça. FC Barcelona players Ousmane Dembélé, Samuel Umtiti and Gavi are positive for Covid-19, the Spanish club announced on Wednesday. “The players are doing well and are in isolation, at home”, said Barça. The two French players and the Spanish midfielder are thus added to Jordi Alba, Daniel Alves and Clément Lenglet, bringing to six the number of positive players and therefore unavailable within the team coached by Xavi Hernandez before the meeting on Sunday against RDC Mallorca, for the resumption of La Liga after the Christmas break. A match must be postponed or canceled if one of the teams does not have at least 13 capable players, including a minimum of five from the first team, according to the criteria established by the Spanish Football Federation and La Liga.

Record of contaminations in the world over the past week. With more than 935,000 cases of Covid-19 detected every day on average from December 22 to 28, the world has reached new contamination records over the past week, according to an AFP count. These figures, the highest since the start of the pandemic at the end of 2019, are based on the reports communicated daily by the health authorities in each country. A large proportion of the less serious or asymptomatic cases remain undetected despite the intensification of screening in many countries since the start of the pandemic. In addition, testing policies differ from country to country.

Novak Djokovic banned from Australia. World tennis number 1 Novak Djokovic, who refuses to say whether or not he has been vaccinated against Covid-19, will not play the ATP Cup from January 1 to 9 in Sydney, organizers announced on Wednesday, reinforcing the uncertainty over the Serbian’s participation in the Australian Open. To be allowed to return to Australia and participate in the tournament, players, their entourage and members of their management must be vaccinated. However, Djokovic refuses to say whether he is or not.

Faced with omicron, the antigenic tests would deliver “false negatives”? If the antigenic tests deliver a result in just a few minutes, however, the latter could prove to be false. For good reason, according to the American health authorities, these tests are less sensitive to the omicron variant than to the previous variants. “Preliminary data suggest that antigenic tests detect the omicron variant well, but with reduced sensitivity”, The United States Medicines Agency (FDA) said in a statement. This could lead to a request for an additional PCR test to confirm the result of the antigen. Easier to perform and less expensive, antigen tests detect antigens on the surface of the virus, while PCR tests look for the genetic material of the virus.

Discos closed for three additional weeks. Initially closed until January 6, the 1,600 establishments concerned in France will not reopen their doors before January 24. “On January 3, like the other sectors which were announced by the Prime Minister, for three weeks there will be the renewal of the closure which concerned them”, announced the Minister Delegate in charge of Tourism and SMEs Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne this Wednesday on France Inter.