The decline in the Covid-19 epidemic continues in France. On Saturday, 22,507 new positive cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, compared to 30,459 a week earlier, according to the latest report from Public Health France. On the death side, the toll has increased by two deaths in nursing homes and medico-social establishments, bringing the total to 147,782 deaths in France since the start of the pandemic.
- The Covid will weigh on the World Health Assembly
The context is complicated for this first assembly meeting face-to-face since the start of the pandemic: war in Ukraine, inequalities, climate crisis and pandemics… The 194 member countries of the WHO are meeting in Geneva, this Sunday, May 22, to think about a more efficient and fair global health system.
The renewal for five years of the director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is acquired despite the hitches that marked his first term, such as his attitude deemed too conciliatory towards China at the start of Covid-19 and a too slow reaction to the scandal of sexual exploitation of certain employees. But without a rival and with the support of the heavyweights of the organization, the first African director general of the WHO will be able to continue his work. “We confidently expect from him a very strong commitment to the continued management of the pandemic but also the very large project of global health reform”, underlines the European diplomat.
Several projects will be discussed, including the financing of the WHO and its organization. The Covid-19 pandemic has laid bare what is not working in the global health system. The Assembly will therefore focus in particular on updating the International Health Regulations (IHR), to enable a more effective and rapid response to health emergencies. In the same vein, it should decide on the creation of a Standing Committee on Emergencies stemming from the WHO Executive Board and activating within 24 hours in the event of a health emergency of international concern – the highest level of alert in the world. WHO.
- Belgians can drop the mask in transport
Wearing a mask in public transport in Belgium will no longer be compulsory from Monday, the government announced on Friday, taking note of the “significantly slowed circulation” of the coronavirus. France abandoned this measure on May 16, which was considered the last major anti-Covid restriction. In Belgium, wearing a mask remains compulsory “in hospitals, medical practices and pharmacies”, and is “recommended” in retirement homes, at the dentist’s or in any other place that would be “very busy”. .
After a peak of more than 76,000 contaminations over one day, at the end of January, in the midst of the Omicron wave, the circulation of the virus slowed down very sharply. The daily number of infections is around 3,500, down 19% over a week, according to public health institute Sciensano.
- Biden says he offered vaccines to Pyongyang but ‘didn’t get a response’
The United States has offered vaccines against Covid-19 to North Korea, in the grip of a strong epidemic. But the proposal “got no response,” US President Joe Biden said on Saturday. “We have offered vaccines, not only to North Korea but also to China, and we are ready to do that immediately,” he told a press conference in Seoul, South Korea. . North Korea, whose population is not vaccinated against Covid-19, is currently facing an epidemic outbreak, with nearly 2.6 million cases and 67 deaths, according to the latest official figures.
- Spain has eased entry rules for unvaccinated tourists
Spain on Saturday relaxed entry rules for unvaccinated tourists from outside the European Union, giving a boost to the key tourism sector as the summer holidays approach.
Until now, people from outside the European Union – including the UK, the main country of origin for tourists to Spain – could only enter with proof of vaccination or recovery from Covid. -19. But since Saturday, these visitors have been allowed to enter with a negative test, the Spanish transport ministry said in a statement. PCR tests must be carried out within 72 hours prior to departure for Spain and antigen tests within 24 hours prior. Children under 12 are exempt.
With its sunny beaches and rich architectural heritage, Spain was the second most visited country in the world before the pandemic, with 83.5 million foreign visitors in 2019. But pandemic-related international travel restrictions have put on its knees the sector which, in 2020, received only 19 million tourists. This figure rose to 31.1 million in 2021, well below government forecasts.
- Public transport resumes in Shanghai, residents in quarantine in Beijing
Public transport in Shanghai partially resumed on Sunday, a sign of a gradual reopening after nearly two months of confinement. Four of the city’s 20 subway lines have restarted, as have some road transport, forming a “core network covering all central urban areas”, according to authorities. People taking public transport will need to present a negative Covid test less than 48 hours old and have a “normal temperature”, they added.
With cases declining in Shanghai, authorities appear to be gradually easing restrictions, and some factories have resumed operations. From May 31, Shanghai will adopt a classification system between “low”, “medium” or “high” risk areas, depending on the number of cases found there, a city health official said on Sunday. Zhao Dandan.
The economic capital has been experiencing very strict confinement since April with the ban, in a large part of the city, on leaving home, and the isolation of positive cases. Unlike other major economies, China is pursuing a strict “zero Covid” policy, consisting of isolating sources of contamination to stop the spread of the virus. But this approach has proven difficult to hold against the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Fears now center on how Beijing will contain the outbreak, and whether it intends to adopt an approach similar to that of Shanghai. Dining out is already banned and millions of people are forced to telecommute. More than 13,000 residents of the Nanxinyuan residential complex in the southeast of the capital, although tested negative for the virus, were transported overnight to isolation hotels and threatened with reprisals if they resisted, after the discovery of 26 cases of Covid-19 in their residence.
- China’s Convidecia vaccine urgently approved by WHO
The World Health Organization announced on Thursday the emergency registration of the anti-Covid vaccine Convidecia from Chinese laboratories CanSino Biologics, as Beijing battles against a resurgence of the pandemic. This vaccine is based on a modified human adenovirus. It is administered in a single dose and the WHO recommends it for all age groups from the age of 18, says a statement from the organization. The vaccine is 64% effective for the symptomatic form of Covid-19 and 92% against severe forms. It is the ninth anti-Covid vaccine – or a variation of a vaccine – to receive this precious sesame from the WHO.