[En continu] A first athlete tested positive in Tokyo before the Games, more than 500,000 dead in Brazil, Switzerland well prepared for the Delta variant

The essential

The United States donate 2.5 million vaccines in Taiwan

The France had his last night of curfew this Saturday

Moscow on Saturday recorded a new record of cases of contamination for the second consecutive day, an outbreak linked to the Delta variant

The Brazil became the second most bereaved country in the world, crossing the milestone of 500,000 dead

The pandemic has killed more than 3,862,364 people around the world since the end of December 2019, according to a report established this Sunday at noon by AFP from official sources. The most bereaved countries are the United States, Brazil, India, Mexico and Peru.

Find our followed by Saturday June 19

■ Vaccinated Ugandan athlete tested positive on arrival in Tokyo

The athlete, who is not identified, was part of a group of nine people all vaccinated and all tested negative before boarding for Tokyo. On arrival, however, his status had changed. He was taken to one of the government-organized quarantine facilities near the airport, where he will remain in quarantine. Uganda is experiencing an upsurge in cases these days.

■ The Delta variant does not worry the commission for vaccinations

Switzerland is well prepared to face the so-called Indian Delta variant, explains the chairman of the Federal Commission for Vaccinations Christoph Berger in the NZZ on Sunday. It is admittedly more contagious than other strains, but the good news, he adds, is that people vaccinated twice with a messenger RNA vaccine are nearly 90% protected against this variant.

The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines used in Switzerland have also been shown to be much more effective against the new variant than other vaccines, such as AstraZeneca, which is widely used in Great Britain, where there is an increase in cases.

In addition, the Federal Council intends to open the vaccination against Covid-19 for adolescents aged 12 to 15 years, according to the manager. Access to vaccines for adolescents with medical history makes sense. This also applies to young people who are in contact with people at risk, whose immune systems are weakened.

On this topic read: Should children be vaccinated against Covid-19?

Pfizer’s vaccine approved for 12-15 year olds (our follow-up on June 4)

■ The milestone of 500,000 dead in Brazil, demonstrations against President Bolsonaro

Brazil crossed the threshold of 500,000 dead on Saturday, according to the Minister of Health. The country of 212 million inhabitants experienced at the beginning of the year a second particularly fatal wave with more than 4,000 deaths per day. He fears he will be hit by a third wave, with the number of infections reaching a new peak.

Thousands of people demonstrated on Saturday June 19 in more than 400 cities across the country to denounce the management of the Covid-19 pandemic by President Jair Bolsonaro.

■ A “fever clinic” and anti-covid kits at the Tokyo Olympic Village

A month before the opening of the Games, still scheduled for July 23, the organizers of the Tokyo Games presented to the media this Sunday the express measures taken to counter covid-19, to ensure the safety of athletes and reassure the Japanese. This includes a clinic specializing in the detection of the virus where possible suspected or positive cases can be isolated, plexiglass partitions and masks by the thousands. Group consumption of alcohol will be strictly prohibited inside the Village, the number of guests seated at official dinners has been reduced and a mixed area for guests has been removed.

Across the country, the state of health emergency was lifted on Sunday as planned in Tokyo and eight other departments, but restrictions are maintained and could limit the presence of a local audience at the Olympics.

Bars and restaurants will again be allowed to serve alcohol until 7:00 p.m., but will have to continue to close at 8:00 p.m.

■ China passes the billion-dose mark

This was announced on Sunday by the Ministry of Health, without however specifying the percentage of the population having received a complete vaccination.

This number of injected doses represents more than a third of the planetary total. The world had passed the 2.5 billion mark on Friday, according to the AFP press agency’s count made from official sources.

■ 62% efficacy for the Cuban coronavirus vaccine

Cuban Soberana 02 vaccine against Covid-19 reaches 62% efficiency after injecting two of its three planned doses, the laboratory that developed it announced on Saturday. This intermediate result exceeds the 50% required by the WHO.

This result is “heartwarming” because it takes into account the variants already circulating in the Caribbean country, Vicente Verez, director of the Finlay Institute for Vaccines, which designed the serum, told local press. The World Health Organization requires at least 50% efficacy for a candidate to be accepted as a vaccine, he added.

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