More than 100 million people have officially been infected with the new coronavirus around the world, where restrictions and containments intended to stem the pandemic are increasingly contested, sometimes with violence.
In total, 100,010,798 cases of Covid-19 have been officially detected, responsible for 2,151,242 deaths since its appearance in China in December 2019, according to a count made Tuesday evening by AFP from reports provided by the authorities.
Another symbolic figure, a sign that the pandemic is not weakening, the United Kingdom on Tuesday became the first country in Europe to exceed 100,000 deaths from the new coronavirus.
The country, currently reconfined, is in its third wave of the pandemic, much more virulent due to a variant considered to be much more contagious, potentially more deadly, and which has already spread across the planet.
– Stains on hands and feet –
Lesions on the tongue, spots on the hands and feet, could be other symptoms of Covid-19, according to a new study presented on Tuesday.
The only hope on the horizon, vaccination is progressing unevenly from one country to another: if President Joe Biden predicts thanks to it a collective immunity of Americans by the summer, in many other nations it stalled, for lack of doses, or has barely started, for lack of resources.
The pandemic, which limits freedoms and has been testing the patience of populations for a year, will cut off the world’s gross domestic product by $ 22 trillion between 2020 and 2025, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated on Tuesday.
In the Netherlands, after three nights of violent riots in several large cities and towns to protest against the establishment of a curfew, a strong police presence seemed Tuesday evening to have prevented further unrest.
At least 184 people have been arrested and ten police officers injured in these riots, the “worst in forty years” according to Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
In Greece, police have announced that all gatherings will be banned for a week for “public health” reasons, while a student protest is scheduled for Thursday and another from the far left on Friday.
In Israel, after the first clashes on Monday, violence broke out again on Tuesday between police and ultra-Orthodox Jews opposed to health measures in Jerusalem.
Across the world, restrictions are being maintained or tightened as vaccination began a month ago: more than 63.5 million doses have been administered in at least 68 countries or territories, according to an AFP count .
But the vaccine gap between rich and poor is widening, worried the World Health Organization (WHO). German Chancellor Angela Merkel also called for a “fair” distribution of vaccines around the world.
– “Do not travel!” –
Tuesday must come into force the negative test for Covid-19 mandatory for all travelers arriving in the United States by plane.
In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expects to keep her national borders closed “for most of this year”.
Germany, for its part, is considering “drastic measures”, including “stricter border controls, () but also reducing air traffic to Germany to almost nothing”.
Belgium has decided that from Wednesday until March 1, non-essential travel to and from its territory is banned, going further than the EU’s recommendations, which asks to avoid travel by approval.
Ireland will extend its third lockdown until March 5 and adopt mandatory quarantine measures for the first time, Prime Minister Micheal Martin announced on Tuesday. “Stay at home, don’t travel,” he stressed.
–
