New measures, new reports and highlights: an update on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic around the world.
The situation in France
Opponents of the vaccine pass demonstrated on Saturday in several cities in France, a few days after the entry into force of this device which hardens the health pass in force since the summer of 2021 to encourage anti-Covid vaccination. The duration of the certificate of recovery, granted to people who have just been infected with the coronavirus, will be reduced to four months, against six currently, from February 15, indicated the Ministry of Health.
The certificate of recovery is granted to people who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and who must wait before receiving a dose of the Covid vaccine. This certificate is integrated into the vaccination pass, which has replaced the health pass since January 24. “After your last injection of vaccine, or your last infection” with the virus, “the time limit for carrying out a booster dose is three months”, the ministry reminded AFP on Saturday. “You have one month to complete your booster dose,” it added. The reinstatement certificate will therefore now be for a period of four months.
Peak of contamination in Beijing before the Olympics
Beijing recorded 20 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, the highest daily toll since June 2020. The country’s authorities are currently grappling with outbreaks in several cities across the country as well as within the “health bubble” of the Winter Olympics, which begin on February 4. The Olympics will take place in a “closed loop” for the participants, in order to prevent any contact between them and the local population. The approximately 60,000 people who are part of the health bubble are subjected to daily tests.
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A fourth death in Bhutan
Bhutan recorded one Covid death this week, only the fourth in this Himalayan country so far largely spared by the pandemic. Despite one of the weakest balance sheets in the world, the Prime Minister of this kingdom of 800,000 inhabitants called on the population to redouble their efforts, the nation cannot afford to “lose citizens due to a preventable disease”. Like many countries around the world, Bhutan has seen an increase in the number of people infected with the highly more contagious Omicron variant.
The situation in the world
The pandemic has officially made more than 5.65 million dead in the world since the end of December 2019, out of more than 370 million confirmed contaminations, according to a report established by AFP on Sunday at 11:00 GMT.
The United States are the country with the most deaths (883,939), ahead of the Brazil (626.524) and theIndia (494.091).
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the toll of the pandemic could be two to three times higher than that officially established.
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