Almost 2 billion people are now confined around the world to fight the Covid-19 epidemic which has already caused more than 16,000 deaths. In France, the latest assessment shows 860 deaths, including 146 during the last 24 hours. Monday was a particularly painful day for the medical community, many of whose members lost their lives after being infected.
During a television intervention on Monday evening, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced a toughening of containment rules. Among these new measures is the closing of the markets, unless there is a prefectural exemption.
Abroad, Italy and Spain continue to pay a heavy price: the first crossed the barrier of 6,000 dead on Monday, while the second saw the number of deaths jump to almost 500 in one day. The United Kingdom, for its part, has finally resolved to adopt measures similar to its European neighbors: from this Tuesday, the British are confined to their homes , for a period of three weeks. The only good news, coming from Wuhan, the cradle of the epidemic: movement restrictions will be gradually lifted there, after two months of confinement.
The main information to remember
> The death toll stands at 860 deaths in France, more than 10,000 in Europe.
> The United Kingdom confines itself, France closes its markets.
> Travel restrictions will be lifted in Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic.
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Follow the events of this Tuesday March 24th live.
> 2008 Nobel laureate calls for caution on chloroquine
Co-winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine for the discovery of the AIDS virus, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, calls for caution in the face of hydroxychloroquine, the effectiveness of this treatment against the coronavirus having not been proven according to her “Rigorously”.
In an interview with the daily newspaper Le Monde, she indicates that we must be “patient” while awaiting the results of the European clinical trial Discovery which must evaluate within two weeks four experimental treatments to fight against the coronavirus, including chloroquine.
> Hydro-chloroquine in five questions
Hydrochloroquine is debated in the fight against Covid-19. After the encouraging results obtained on 24 patients in Marseille by Professor Didier Raoult, the scientific world is dividing. Effectiveness on a larger scale, side effects…?
What do we know about this potentially victorious Covid-19 drug? Criticized on all sides, it has just been added to the vast European clinical trial Discovery. We will know in a few weeks if it is effectively effective.
> Activity in the euro zone is collapsing faster than in 2008
The coronavirus epidemic is causing an unprecedented contraction in production and consumption. The IMS Markit composite PMI index has plunged to its lowest level since its inception – and since the euro – more than two decades ago. The composite figure fell from 51.6 in February to… 31.4 in March.
The shock caused by the sudden shutdown of whole swathes of the economy and the fall in consumption in the wake of containment measures, total or partial, decided by governments has affected the entire region, according to the report published on Tuesday.
> In Italy, the number of cases higher than the official assessment
In Italy, the epidemic is severe, but, according to the head of the Italian Civil Protection, the number of cases of contamination is probably 10 times higher than the official toll of nearly 64,000 people infected.
Since tests for the virus have most often been carried out on people in the hospital, it is likely that thousands of cases of infection have gone unnoticed. The latest official figures also show 6,077 deaths since the first case appeared in Lombardy on February 21, making Italy the country most affected by the current pandemic.
> 514 dead in 24 hours in Spain
It’s a sad new record for Spain. The country records 514 additional deaths from the Covid-19 virus between Monday and Tuesday. This brings the total balance to 2,696.
The total number of confirmed cases is approaching 40,000 with 39,673 while the authorities are increasing the tests. This new assessment is published while the government of the socialist Pedro Sanchez will ask Tuesday in parliament the extension until April 11 of the confinement of the Spaniards, decreed on March 14.
> The government is targeting 5,000 early releases from prison
The concern is growing in the prison environment facing the coronavirus. In order to contain the spread of the virus in prisons and maintain calm in an already overcrowded prison environment, the Keeper of the Seals, Nicole Belloubet, will bring out prisoners “before time”.
5,000 of the 70,500 prisoners should benefit from an early release. Are only “eligible” those prisoners who remain six months to serve and for which the judges of enforcement of sentences will have to decide the establishment of a work of general interest.
> Business collapses in the United Kingdom
The Covid-19 shock is now hitting the British economy hard. Activity in the private sector collapsed in March in the United Kingdom, suggesting a likely recession in the country.
According to Markit, the PMI of purchasing managers of companies fell to 37.1 points, its lowest level since these data began to be published in January 1998. This indicator stood out again at 53 points in February, a sign that the pandemic has knocked out the British economy in a new way.
> Accord and Airbnb offer accommodation solutions to healthcare staff
At the request of the State, Accor and Airbnb have decided to each set up a platform of emergency accommodation solutions in France for nursing staff, the most vulnerable and social workers engaged in the fight against the coronavirus.
The French hotel group thus indicates that it has created a CEDA platform in order to centralize needs and offer accommodation solutions. “To date, more than 40 hotels (hotelF1, ibis budget, ibis, ibis styles, Mercure and Novotel) offer a capacity of 1,000 to 2,000 beds to accommodate homeless people across the country,” says Accor.
Airbnb, for its part, launched the Appartsolidaire platform. The American group will ask the owners who use this platform to make their rented apartments free of charge to the medical staff and social workers mobilized against the coronavirus.
> “France today is Wuhan in early February”
Philippe Klein is director of an international clinic located in a hospital in Wuhan. Present in the city since the beginning of the epidemic in China, he tells the “Echoes” the measures taken by the Chinese authorities and recommends them for France.
“It is quite possible to imagine placing minor cases in holiday centers, for example, and placing people in contact in hotels,” he explains. “As long as we have not stopped the mixing of people, as long as we have not prevented everyone from moving, exchanging, putting their hands everywhere, the epidemic will not stop. “
> French growth will be “much lower” than what was planned in the rectified budget
Growth will be “much lower than what was assessed in the amending finance bill”, ie -1%, said Bruno Le Maire at a press conference. “Each week of additional confinement […] has an impact on our growth “which is in the billions of euros, he added.
The Minister of the Economy indicated that he did not believe in a rapid rebound at the end of the crisis and compared the current crisis to the crisis of 1929. “I do not believe in the magic wand,” he said. he said, adding that “the restart will be longer” in a number of sectors, citing the automobile in particular.
> Coronavirus: loss of smell may indicate that you are infected
Covid-19 was known to be a source of fever, cough, shortness of breath and even breathing difficulties. But the ENTs also alert to another symptom associated with the disease: anosmia, which is a “sudden disappearance” of smell, but without a stuffy nose, and sometimes accompanied by a disappearance of taste (ageusia).
This anosmia described by several people with Covid-19 can occur in isolation or with other symptoms related to the virus.
> Emmanuel Macron will install the committee of researchers this afternoon
The Research and Expertise Analysis Committee (CARE), which brings together 12 researchers and doctors, will advise the government on treatments and tests against the coronavirus. It will be officially installed at 5 p.m., the presidency said.
This committee of researchers will be chaired by Francoise Barré-Sanoussi, virologist at the Institut Pasteur / Inserm, Nobel Prize 2008 for the discovery of the AIDS virus.
> European stock markets rebound at the opening
In the aftermath of a new fall, European markets opened clearly in the green. In the first exchanges, the Parisian CAC 40 gained 4.5%, while the Dax in Frankfurt rose by almost 6% and the FTSE in London took almost 4% at the opening. The STOXX 600, the European index, climbed 4.3% at the start of the session.
This rebound could however be short-lived: the figures for private sector activity (PMI), published today, could reverse the trend.
> More than 700,000 partially unemployed workers
The use of partial unemployment in France concerns 730,000 workers after only a few days of implementation of the extended system during the coronavirus crisis, said Bruno Le Maire.
The cost of the measure already stands at 2.2 billion euros. But the Minister of Economy warned that the bill would be more than 8.5 billion euros, which is what has provisioned the state for now.
> The Mayor launches a call to large retailers
The Minister of the Economy wants major brands to buy from French farmers, penalized by the closure of markets announced Monday by Edouard Philippe.
“I call the big distributors to a new effort: stock up on French products”, declared the minister on France info, estimating that during this crisis the French economy will need “economic patriotism”.
> Closing of the markets: a “catastrophe” for the actors of the sector
Unsurprisingly, the closure of open markets, announced Monday by Edouard Philippe, will strike a blow to professionals in the sector. It is a “blow of the club,” said Monique Rubin, president of the National Federation of Markets in France, at the microphone of France Inter.
The measure, which nevertheless provides for some possible local derogations, is “an economic disaster for all traders, artisans, producers and farmers”, she added. “This is a whole pan that collapses and I can assure you that I do not know who will be the helpers of these trades but we will have to see them arrive with great strides”.
> Asian stock markets in the green
Like the Tokyo market, which ended up sharply, most Asian markets were in the green shortly before their closure. In mainland China, investors reacted positively to Beijing’s announcements to end travel restrictions.
In line with the Asian stock markets, oil rose at the opening. The barrel of WTI, benchmark in the United States, gained 4.3% to 24 dollars. Brent from the North Sea, an international benchmark, jumped 3.8% to 28 dollars per barrel.
> Germany registers 28 additional deaths in 24 hours
The toll of the epidemic has increased again in Germany, where 27,436 cases of contamination have been detected. This is an increase of 4,764 cases from Monday, according to the Robert Koch Institute, the German federal health authority.
The death toll from the coronavirus has now reached 114. In the past 24 hours, the country has recorded an additional 28 deaths.
> Containment: Belgium fines recalcitrants
As in Paris or elsewhere in France, many Belgians did not resist the call of good weather, despite the confinement instructions. With higher fines as a result.
The Brussels police thus announced that they had drawn up 288 minutes on Sunday alone. This is three times more than the hundred daily fines recorded the previous three days. As of March 14, schools, cafes, restaurants and nightclubs have been closed in Belgium.
> The Tokyo Stock Exchange regains its colors
The fall in the yen, interventions by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) and new measures by the Federal Reserve (Fed) to cushion the shock of the coronavirus pandemic seem to have reassured investors – at least for a time.
The star index Nikkei ended on a jump of 7.13% to 18,092.35 points (+1,204.57 points). This is its strongest increase in one session since February 2016 in percentage and since September 2015 in points. The broad Topix index rose 3.18% to 1,333.10 points.
> Trump is already thinking about the end of the crisis
Monday evening, the American president announced his will to release the pressure on containment. “America will be open to business again, and soon. Very soon, ”he said. “Much earlier than in three or four months. “
A statement that comes at a time when the US economy is in trouble. The intervention, however exceptional of the Federal Reserve on Monday, did not succeed in calming the financial markets, which more detained during the day the inability of Congress to agree on a rescue plan.
> Travel restrictions to be lifted in Wuhan
After more than two months of confinement, the inhabitants of Wuhan, the cradle of the pandemic, will soon be able to resume a normal life. Authorities have announced that travel restrictions will be lifted on April 8.
The rest of Hubei province will benefit from this measure from Wednesday 25 March. Initially, only residents considered healthy will be able to move freely.
> Chloroquine: French authorities put an end to it
Olivier Véran, the Minister of Health, announced Monday evening for Tuesday, a decree framing the use of treatments without marketing authorization, to treat patients with Covid-19. A barely veiled response to the rush looming on chloroquine.
While Professor Didier Raoult is convinced that he has found an effective remedy against the virus, some practitioners have already started to prescribe it, contributing to the enthusiasm of the public.
> France officially in a state of health emergency
This new exceptional regime provides for measures limiting the freedom to come and go, to meet and to undertake. The violation of the confinement rules is punished with a fine of 135 euros, 1,500 euros in the event of recidivism “within 15 days” and in the case of “four violations within 30 days”, the offense is punished with 3,700 euros d fine and up to six months in prison.
State of health emergency is declared for a period of two months from the entry into force of the law. Its extension beyond can only be authorized by a new law.
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