LIVE – Coronavirus: Intensive care admissions continue to drop in France

The main information to remember

> More than 2 million people are officially infected worldwide.

> Several European countries are starting to ease containment measures.

> The United States registered 5.2 million new unemployment benefit claimants last week.

> Twenty sailors from the Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier contaminated by the coronavirus are still hospitalized.

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> London and Paris suspect Beijing of hiding information

Emmanuel Macron considered that there were gray areas in the management of the coronavirus epidemic by China, declaring to the “Financial Times” that “there are obviously things that happened that we do not know not “.

Same observation on the London side: “We must look at all aspects, and in a balanced manner, but there is no doubt that everything cannot continue as if nothing had happened and we will have to ask the difficult questions concerning the ‘The virus appeared and why it couldn’t be stopped sooner,’ said UK Foreign Minister Dominic Raab.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the accusations as “counterproductive” during an interview with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. He even praised the “coherent and effective actions of the Chinese, which have helped stabilize the epidemiological situation in the country”.

> Resuscitation admissions continue to drop in France

The balance of patients with coronavirus admitted to intensive care in France fell Thursday for the eighth consecutive day, said the Director General of Health Jérôme Salomon during his daily press briefing. The total number of serious cases in intensive care reaches 6,248, which is 209 less than the day before.

In 24 hours, 1,823 new patients were admitted to the hospital, but the balance was negative for the 2nd day in a row. “This is an important indicator but which deserves to be confirmed in the coming days”, underlined Jérôme Salomon.

However, the country has registered 753 new deaths in the last 24 hours, for a total of 17,920 deaths (11,060 in hospitals and 6,860 in nursing homes and other medico-social establishments).

> United Kingdom: prolonged confinement for at least three weeks

The country is extending the containment that has been in place since March 23 to “contain at least three weeks” in an attempt to stem the spread of coronavirus, the British government has announced.

The measures currently in place must be extended for “at least three weeks,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominic Raab, who deputizes for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, still recovering from Covid-19 four days after being released from hospital. .

> United States: the recovery plan for already dry SMEs

American SMEs can no longer apply for loans as part of the economic recovery plan, the $ 349 billion planned having been spent, announced the US administration in charge of small businesses (SBA).

The SBA is no longer able to accept new loan requests from small and medium-sized enterprises, “on the basis of available funds”, she said on her website, while an extension of 250 billion dollars has been under negotiation for more than a week between the Trump administration and elected members of Congress.

> Putin postpones the parade marking the victory of 1945

The Russian president resolved to postpone the annual military parade of May 9 celebrating the victory over Nazi Germany due to the coronavirus pandemic, the second major event that the Kremlin had to give up.

“The risks linked to the epidemic, the peak of which will not yet have been reached (May 9), are still extremely high and this does not give me the right to launch preparations for the parade and other mass events”, said Vladimir Putin during a televised meeting with his Security Council.

> The virus escaped from a Chinese laboratory? The United States is investigating

The United States does not seem to rule out that the coronavirus at the origin of the pandemic which has already killed more than 137,000 people in the world comes from a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan, and now refer to an “investigation” to shed light on His origin.

“We are thoroughly investigating everything we can learn about how this virus has spread, infected the world, and caused such a tragedy,” said US Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo on Fox News. .

He was questioned on Wednesday evening on an article in the “Washington Post” claiming that the US Embassy in Beijing had alerted the US State Department two years ago to the insufficient security measures in a laboratory in Wuhan. who was studying coronaviruses in bats.

Mike Pompeo was also questioned about information from Fox News that “several sources” now believe that the current coronavirus, first reported in Wuhan in December, comes from the same laboratory. Even if it is a natural virus, not a pathogen created by the Chinese. But also that his “escape” would not be voluntary but due to poor security protocols. Mike Pompeo did not deny any of this information.

> The United States passes the 30,000 dead mark

The 30,000 dead mark of the new coronavirus was crossed Thursday in the United States, according to the count in real time of the Johns Hopkins university.

According to this source, 30,990 people have died in the country since the start of the pandemic. The United States is the most bereaved country in the world, ahead of Italy (with 21,645 dead), Spain (19,130) and France (17,167).

The world’s leading power, where nearly 640,000 cases have also been officially declared, has recorded a record toll in the last two days of the number of new daily deaths. New York City, the epicenter of the US epidemic, added 3,778 “probable” deaths from Covid-19 to its balance sheet on Tuesday. The Governor of the State of New York has announced the extension until May 15 of the containment measures.

> Respect for confinement: more than 760,000 fines and 12.6 million inspections in France

Nearly 12.6 million checks have been carried out and more than 760,000 fines have been imposed by law enforcement since the introduction of compulsory containment on March 17 in France in an attempt to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, said Christophe Castaner.

“Almost 12.6 million checks were made on check-in Wednesday evening and 762,106 reports were drawn up” for breach of confinement, said the Minister of the Interior during a hearing by the control mission on the related measures to the COVID-19 epidemic established by the Senate Law Commission.

Christophe Castaner said that on average 100,000 law enforcement officials were mobilized to carry out these checks, with a reinforcement of the workforce, around 160,000 during the Easter weekend or at the start of the school holidays, for example .

> 861 additional deaths in the UK

Deaths linked to the coronavirus pandemic are on the rise in the United Kingdom, which on Thursday deplored 861 additional deaths in hospital, bringing the total to 13,729 deaths, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Health.

Just over 18,665 more people were tested for Covid-19 in 24 hours, the ministry said, bringing the total infected with the disease to more than 100,000 (103,093) since the start of the UK epidemic. -United.

> Lombardy wants to resume economic activities on May 4

Lombardy, the Italian region hardest hit by the Covid-19 epidemic with more than 11,300 deaths out of the 21,600 registered in the country, wants to relaunch its economic activities on May 4 when the containment is lifted.

The Italians have been confined since March 9 and this measure is in effect until May 3 inclusive. All non-essential activities are stopped until this date, with the exception of some timid exceptions granted in recent days, such as the reopening of bookstores, stationery stores and children’s clothing stores.

> In the United States, new requests for unemployment benefits explode

The United States registered last week 5.2 million new claimants of unemployment benefits, a level still historically high for the fourth week in a row, although in slight decline, according to figures published by the Department of Labor .

Analysts had expected 5 million new registrants for the week of April 5 to 11. In one month, more than 20 million people applied for unemployment benefit for the first time, while containment measures became massive in the United States from mid-March.

> Almost all Ile-de-France nursing homes know at least one case of Covid

Most of the 700 nursing homes in Ile-de-France know of cases of people infected with Covid-19, said the Regional Health Agency. Screening campaigns are continuing to help establishments in difficulty.

A week ago, the director of the ARS Ile-de-France Aurélien Rousseau had reported more than 400 establishments affected by the Covid-19, or 60% of Ehpad. “We have a substantial mortality in nursing homes, higher than in the general population,” he added.

> EDF announces facilities to help its customers

EDF will continue until September to supply gas and electricity to its individual debtor customers, without late payment penalties, the group announced on Thursday. For customers in difficult situations, EDF “also undertakes to relax its payment terms and schedules”.

For professionals, EDF adds that it has taken all the measures to grant deferred payment of invoices to customers eligible for the Solidarity Fund who request it, in accordance with government decisions.

> Local elected officials oppose reopening of schools on May 11

Several local elected officials have expressed their desire not to reopen schools on May 11, as announced by Emmanuel Macron in his speech on Monday, the mayor of Montpellier, for example, calling this prospect “unreasonable”. “Priority must first be given to controlling the epidemic,” says Philippe Saurel.

> Japan in a state of emergency

Worried about the multiplication of coronavirus cases in regions so far little affected, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will allow local authorities to organize containments throughout the territory.

Since April 7, this exceptional measure, which allows local authorities to suggest confinements to businesses and residents, applies to the cities of Tokyo and Osaka as well as to 5 other highly populated geographic areas. It will now concern the 47 prefectures of the archipelago and will be in place until May 6.

> Twenty sailors from the CDG aircraft carrier still hospitalized

Twenty sailors from the carrier strike group formed around the Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier contaminated by the coronavirus are still hospitalized. With the exception of one of them, placed in intensive care, their condition does not inspire concern.

The latest assessment of the Ministry of Armies had reported Wednesday evening of 31 sailors hospitalized at the Sainte-Anne army training hospital in Toulon (south), including one in intensive care.

> The coming weeks will be “critical” warns WHO

Europe is currently at the heart of the cyclone of the COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly a million cases, said the regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Europe on Thursday. “The number of cases in the region continues to climb. In the past ten days, the number of cases reported in Europe has doubled to almost one million, “said Hans Kluge.

This means that almost half of the cases recorded worldwide are concentrated in Europe, where the epidemic has left 84,000 dead, said Hans Kluge. “There is no fast track for a return to normal,” he warned.

> Consultations down 44% among general practitioners

Consultations have fallen by 44% among general practitioners and by 71% among specialists since the start of the coronavirus crisis, according to figures published Thursday by the medical appointment booking platform Doctolib. “The frequentation of offices has collapsed since the beginning of the epidemic,” said Doctolib in a press release, which mentions “a massive phenomenon of renouncing care” since the introduction of confinement.

Heard Wednesday by the Senate Social Affairs Committee, Director of Health Insurance Nicolas Revel also reported a sharp drop in consultations, around 40% for general practitioners and 50% for specialists .

> Spain crosses the bar of 19,000 dead

Spain has registered 551 deaths from the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total toll of the epidemic on its territory to 19,130 ​​dead, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

This number of daily deaths is higher than that of the previous day (523) but remains comparable to those of the last days. The total number of people infected in Spain now stands at 182,816 against 177,633 Wednesday.

> The writer Luis Sepulveda died from the Covid-19

The committed Chilean writer, forced into exile under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, died at the age of 70 in Spain of the Covid-19, announced his publishing house.

“The writer Luis Sepulveda died in Oviedo. The Tusquets Editores team deeply regrets its loss, ”the Spanish editorial group wrote in a press release.

> New York could lose half a million jobs

New York City will face a surge in unemployment in the coming months. The retail, food and entertainment industries will be hit hard.

The decline in the city’s main tax sources could mean a combined deficit of $ 9.7 billion in revenues. About 2.9 billion of this deficit will come from fiscal year 2020, and an additional 6.7 billion from 2021.

> Amazon does not know when its warehouses will reopen

Frédéric Duval, the managing director of Amazon France, declared that he was unable to provide a reopening date for the group’s warehouses in France at this stage.

French justice has summoned Tuesday the giant of the online business to restrict its activity to essential products within 24 hours, the time that an assessment of professional risks can be conducted. Asked about this on RTL, the manager also confirmed the group’s intention to appeal this decision.

> Asian growth stalled?

Zero growth in Asia, the event has not been observed for almost 60 years. However, this is the scenario favored by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The continent’s GDP, which has grown continuously since 1963 – even during the Asian financial crisis of 1997 (+ 1.3%) and that of 2008 (+ 4.7%) – should this time remain at a standstill.

> Jeff Bezos’ fortune swells during the pandemic

Thanks to his participation in Amazon, which breaks stock market records, the boss of the American giant sees his fortune increase significantly. Now 138 billion, it has jumped 20% in four months.

It must be said that since the beginning of the crisis, in a period of containment, Amazon has faced a surge in demand. Households do not hesitate to use virtual distributors, while most of the “non-essential” businesses are closed.

> Sudden stop to business start-ups in France

Company creations in France collapsed by 25.5% in March, according to INSEE, which explains this fall by the fallout from the coronavirus and the measures taken to try to stem the epidemic.

“In the context of the spread of the Covid-19 virus, then the confinement of the population, the creations of conventional businesses collapsed (-30% after + 0.8% in February) and the registrations of micro-entrepreneurs decrease sharply (-19.6% after -7.5%) “, explains the statistics institute.

> The number of new cases in Germany still on the rise

The number of new confirmed cases of coronavirus contamination in Germany was up on Thursday (+2,866) for the second consecutive day, bringing the total number to 130,450 in the country since the start of the epidemic, according to data published by l ‘Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

The number of deaths in Germany linked to this epidemic also increased in the space of 24 hours: 315 additional deaths bringing the total to 3,569 people.

> Beijing relations still strained with Washington and Paris

Washington and Beijing have pledged to cooperate to fight the Covid-19, despite tensions that are still very high. The American administration accuses the Chinese government of having “concealed” the seriousness of the epidemic when it first appeared and froze the American contribution to the World Health Organization.

Relations are also strained between Paris and Beijing after the publication, on the website of the Chinese Embassy in France, of an unsigned article commenting bluntly on the Western response and the attitude of France towards the pandemic.

During a parliamentary hearing with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, several senators expressed their dismay at this article which suggests that caregivers in Western retirement homes have abandoned their work, leaving residents to die. The Chinese ambassador to France was summoned Tuesday to explain himself to the Quai d’Orsay, but the article complained of is still on the embassy’s website.

> In France, longer confinement for people at risk

Emmanuel Macron has set May 11 as the start of deconfinement. Jean-François Delfraissy, who chairs the Covid-19 scientific council with the government, said on Wednesday that vulnerable people should stay at home beyond this date. Some 18 million people are affected.

> Multiplication of deconfinement measures

Denmark has decided to reopen its schools in half of the municipalities, after a month of closure. All establishments are expected to be open by April 20. Finland announced Wednesday the immediate lifting of roadblocks around Helsinki and its region, keeping restrictions in force in the country. While in Lithuania, from this Thursday, some stores may reopen, provided that direct contact with the customer does not exceed 20 minutes. Iceland is also going in the same direction and from May 4, hairdressers but also museums in particular will be allowed to reopen.

For its part, Germany will reopen certain stores and, from May 4, its schools and high schools, but strongly recommends the wearing of masks in stores and public transport. Large gatherings will remain prohibited until at least August 31.

Neighboring Austria, meanwhile, has announced that professional athletes will be able to return to training before the end of April. Farther from Europe, part of the population will be able to return to work next week.

Switzerland has announced a “slow and gradual” deconfinement from April 27. Hairdressers, physiotherapists, doctors, nurseries and even garden centers will be the first to be able to resume their activity, before schools, other stores and markets from May 11. As of June 8, vocational and secondary schools, universities, museums, libraries and zoos should in turn be allowed to reopen.

In Belgium, if the confinement has been extended until May 3, garden centers and DIY stores will reopen while residents living in nursing or care homes or in centers for the disabled will again be able to receive visits from a relative.

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