The outbreak of the epidemic shows no sign of slowing down within the world’s leading power, the most bereaved country with more than 346,400 dead from the virus.
The United States had reached the mark of 10 million cases detected on November 9. The pace of new infections has since skyrocketed: the country passed the 19 million mark on Sunday, the equivalent of the population of New York State.
This spectacular rebound in the epidemic since the fall has been worsened by the travel of millions of Americans for the big Thanksgiving family celebration at the end of November and the end-of-year celebrations, despite numerous calls from the authorities to stay at home .
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Hopes of an eradication of the disease fueled by the arrival of vaccines have for their part been dampened by the slowness of the American vaccination campaign, weighed down by logistical difficulties and overwhelmed hospitals.
Only 2.8 million Americans had received the first dose of their Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, far from the target set by the Trump administration, of 20 million people vaccinated by the end of the year .
A delay deplored by President-elect Joe Biden, who was however determined to step up the pace. “Let’s be clear: the Biden-Harris administration is going to spare no effort to make sure people get vaccinated“, he assured Friday.
“I am more optimistic than ever (…) we have the most effective teams in the world“, also declared the day before the Democrat who will take office on January 20.
– Muted celebrations –
Vaccination campaigns are also the subject of criticism in Europe. German doctors have complained that hospital staff is not a priority in their country. In France, it is the slowness of the process that alarms.
Part of the difficulty is the relatively low number of orders placed by the EU for its 27 member countries, with a contract signed only in November, later than other countries.
The German company BioNTech explained that it plans to rapidly increase the production of its vaccine in Europe, developed with its American partner Pfizer, in order to fill a “lack“in the absence of other approved vaccines.
BioNTech intends in particular to run a new manufacturing unit in Marburg in Germany from February.
In the meantime, the pandemic has killed at least 1,820,970 people worldwide for more than 83 million people infected, according to a report established by AFP on Friday around 8:30 p.m. GMT according to official figures.
As a result, the New Year’s festivities have been discreet this year, marked in large part by virtual celebrations. In Paris, the avenue des Champs-Elysées, usually crowded on December 31, remained empty, with the exception of rare vehicles or bicycle deliverers.
The curfew was generally respected throughout France apart from several clandestine parties and especially a huge rave party in Brittany (west) which brought together up to 2,500 people from all over the country and from abroad.
In New York, where Times Square usually overflows with euphoric people under a shower of confetti, the Manhattan neighborhood was cordoned off. In Brazil, the festivities have been canceled in Rio de Janeiro, which usually hosts one of the biggest New Years parties in the world.
– The mutation spreads –
Despite these precautions, many countries fear a new conflagration after Christmas Eve.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin acknowledged in his New Year’s greeting speech that a second wave of infections is hitting the nation. “Unfortunately, the epidemic has not yet been completely stopped. The fight against the epidemic does not stop for a minute“, did he declare.
French President Emmanuel Macron wanted to reassure him by expressing his “hope“for 2021 with the vaccine, while warning that the first months of the year would be”difficult“, with an epidemic that will weigh”at least until spring“.
To stem a potential outbreak, the curfew will be brought forward from 8 p.m. to 6 p.m. in fifteen departments in the eastern part of France as of Saturday, said government spokesman Gabriel Attal.
“The virus continues to circulate in France (…) with a disparity between the territories“, he explained.
The concern is all the greater as the British variant of the virus, considered to be more contagious than the original strain, continues to spread around the planet.
It was detected for the first time this week in the United States in Colorado, California and now Florida. But the famous American immunologist Anthony Fauci assured “don’t be surprised“nor particularly worried, considering that it was already circulating”probably in other states“.
The British mutant strain has also been spotted in Turkey, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Friday, in 15 people who recently traveled to the United Kingdom. Flights from the UK have been suspended until further notice.
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