The Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, has tested positive for Covid-19. She will go into solitary confinement for seven days and “will continue to work and carry out her activities remotely”, the ministry announced on Friday. She was, Wednesday, alongside President Emmanuel Macron during a trip on the theme of sports activities in Clichy-sous-Bois, in Seine-Saint-Denis.
- White plan reactivated in Martinique
The Covid-19 epidemic is starting again in the West Indies. A month after being lifted, the white plan was reactivated by the Martinique University Hospital. This particular mobilization and organization of the hospital remained in force from July 12, 2021 to May 4, 2022 on the island. From May 30 to June 5, nearly 8,000 new cases were recorded, while the region had only around 2,000 at the end of April. The management of the public hospital wishes “as much as possible not to deprogram medical surgery”, explained Jérôme Le Brière, director of the CHU of Martinique, on the antenna of the local radio RCI, adding that he nevertheless wished ” sanctuarize the holidays to come” of the “teams which are already tired”.
“The installation of a new sub-lineage of the Omicron variant is confirmed in Martinique”, specifies Sante Publique France in its weekly bulletin. For Professor André Cabié, head of the infectious diseases department of the CHUM, questioned on Martinique the 1st, this mutation of the virus “is transmitted more easily than the first”. In this island where only 45.4% of people over 12 have a complete vaccination schedule, 943 deaths have been deplored since the start of the epidemic.
- BA.4 and BA.5, troublemakers of the summer season?
These new sub-variants of Omicron, identified in early April by researchers from Botswana and South Africa, are raising the rate of contamination in several European countries. In South Africa, “where BA.4 and BA.5 were initially detected and where BA.4 is now the majority, the peak of the epidemic wave was past mid-May and its impact was very moderate. BA .5 is now the majority in Portugal, where the incidence is increasing but still remains at lower levels than the previous wave”, summarized Public Health France on Friday.
In France, as in the United Kingdom and Germany, BA.4 and BA.5 are rapidly gaining ground, increasing the viral circulation of the coronavirus. Government spokeswoman Olivia Grégoire spoke of a “slight reversal of trends” at the end of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, speaking of “vigilance” but “no worries”. Based on observations from South Africa and Portugal, epidemiologists are rather optimistic and believe that there is only a limited risk of an increase in hospitalizations and deaths during the summer period.
- End of Covid-19 tests to fly to the United States on Sunday
The United States will lift the Covid-19 screening test requirement for travelers arriving in the country by plane, the White House announced on Friday. This decision will be effective from this Sunday according to American media. Faced with the arrival of the Omicron variant, the health authorities had tightened the test procedures to enter the United States in December 2021. All travelers over the age of 2, boarding a flight from abroad, had to present a negative test less than a day before take-off, regardless of their vaccination status. The government, however, did not specify whether it intended to maintain the vaccination obligation for non-resident foreigners entering the United States.
The Canadian government also announced on Friday suspending random Covid tests at the country’s airports until the end of June in order to reduce the waiting times encountered by travelers. In recent weeks, in both Toronto and Montreal, it took passengers several hours on average before they could leave the airport. In question, a major labor shortage affecting the country and which concerns all sectors of activity.
- Beijing postpones the reopening of its schools
Contrary to what was expected, most primary and secondary school students in the Chinese capital “will continue to study online at home” next week due to a new wave of Covid-19, announced on Saturday. , authorities. China is the last major economy still committed to a “zero Covid” strategy, which involves eradicating new cases through a combination of targeted shutdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines.
But in recent months, the epidemic figures have put this approach to the test. While residents of the megacity of Shanghai were forced into an exhausting months-long confinement, in the capital, schools were closed and Beijingers were ordered to work from home. Authorities eased many restrictions earlier this week, but dozens of infections led officials to tighten some restrictions again.