New measures, new reports and highlights: update on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic around the world.
Hospitalizations and contaminations for Covid-19 still on the rise but the number of patients in critical care services continues to drop slightly, according to official figures released Thursday evening. In the past 24 hours, 425,183 people tested positive, against 436,167 the day before, according to data published by Public Health France.
This brings the average over the last seven days to 337,192 daily cases, compared to 309,433 the previous Thursday. This calculation helps to smooth out the deviations observed from one day to the next, often artificially created by data collection problems. Critical care services, which receive the most serious cases, counted on Thursday 3,842 Covid patients (including 301 admissions), against 3,852 the day before and 3,939 the previous Thursday. A figure that continues to decline slightly.
The total number of hospitalized patients reaches 27,931, of which 3,053 have been admitted in the past 24 hours. The previous Thursday, 24,154 people were hospitalized. A figure that has been rising steadily since the start of the year as contamination soars. This situation is explained by the characteristics of the Omicron variant, which is certainly much more contagious than its predecessors but also gives less severe forms of the disease. This translates into shorter hospital stays and less frequent intensive care admissions.
The epidemic caused the death of 251 people in 24 hours, according to data from the authorities published on Thursday, bringing the total number of deaths in France to 128,114, since the start of the pandemic, almost two years ago. In the field of vaccination, 53,731,886 million people have received at least one injection (79.7% of the total population) and 52,403,632 million now have a complete vaccination schedule (i.e. 77.7% of the total population ).
To read :Jean Castex presents “a timetable” for lifting restrictions
French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced Thursday the entry into force Monday of the vaccine pass, “subject to the decision of the Constitutional Council”, then a gradual lifting of restrictions against Covid. On February 2, it will be the end of wearing a mask outdoors, the end of gauges in places open to the public and the end of compulsory teleworking (it will nevertheless remain recommended). On February 16, nightclubs will be able to reopen. In addition, the booster dose of the Covid vaccine will be authorized from Monday for 12-17 year olds, without obligation.
The point in the world
– 3 million daily cases worldwide –
More than 3 million daily cases were recorded on average worldwide between January 13 and 19, a figure that has increased more than fivefold since the discovery of the Omicron variant at the end of November, according to an AFP count.
The regions currently experiencing the greatest increases in contamination are Asia (385,572 daily cases over the past seven days on average, +68% compared to the previous week), the Middle East (89,900 daily cases, +57%) and the Latin America/Caribbean zone (397,098 daily cases, +40%).
– Argentinian base evacuated in Antarctica –
Nine members of an Argentine scientific and military base in Antarctica were evacuated this weekend, after an outbreak which saw 24 of the 43 occupants of the base infected with Covid-19, we learned Thursday from official sources. .
The nine positive cases, who were not vaccinated because they had been stationed at Base Esperanza since 2020, were evacuated by helicopter on Saturday in a delicate operation during a weather window of a few hours, and transferred by plane to Buenos Aires for there. be isolated, although no one is sick.
– Austria adopts compulsory vaccination –
The Austrian Parliament adopted a law on Thursday on compulsory Covid-19 vaccination for all adults, becoming the first country in the European Union to take such a measure to fight the pandemic. The measure will come into effect on February 4.
– Africa: the 4th wave is receding (WHO) –
The weekly number of Covid-19 cases has “significantly dropped” in Africa and that of deaths has also fallen, for the first time since the peak of the 4th wave induced by the Omicron variant, the WHO announced on Thursday.
However, “as long as the virus continues to circulate, future waves are inevitable,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO director for Africa, at the press briefing.
The vaccination rate remains low in Africa with, according to the WHO, only 10% of the population fully vaccinated.
– Second wave in New Caledonia –
New Caledonia, spared until recently by the Covid-19 epidemic, has entered a “second wave” with the Omicron variant, the health authorities of the French Pacific archipelago announced on Thursday, where new measures will come into force on Monday. .
Elsewhere in the French West Indies, the white plan was reactivated in Guadeloupe against a backdrop of violent protest against the anti-Covid vaccine which turned into a social crisis. The organizations mobilized against the vaccination obligation called, for this Thursday, the whole of the island to a “dead day”.
– More than 5.5 million dead –
The Covid-19 pandemic has made at least 5,563,359 dead in the world since the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources Thursday at 11:00 GMT.
In absolute terms, the countries with the most deaths are the United States (860,100), Brazil (622,205), India (487,693) and Russia (324,060).
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 recorded.
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