Coronavirus: update on the pandemic – Orange news

AFP, published on Sunday 12 December 2021 at 19:34

New measures, new reports and highlights: an update on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic around the world.

– Vaccines probably less effective against Omicron (WHO) –

The Omicron variant appears to spread faster than the Delta variant, causing less severe symptoms and making vaccines less effective, the WHO said on Sunday, stressing that the data remains very patchy.

Omicron is now present in 63 countries, according to the organization.

– Alert level raised in the United Kingdom –

Health officials in the UK announced on Sunday raising the Covid alert level due to a “rapid increase” in cases of the Omicron variant.

The level is reduced from three to four, which is the second highest level and indicates that “transmission is high and the pressure on health services is widespread and significant or increasing”.

The British government has already announced additional measures to combat the spread of the variant, including the extension of the vaccine booster campaign to over 30s from Monday.

From Tuesday, fully vaccinated contact cases of people who test positive for Covid-19 will also be asked to perform antigen tests daily for seven days, while those who are not vaccinated must remain isolated for ten days.

– Boris Johnson in turmoil –

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused of cultivating a ‘culture of disregard of the rules’ in government after a photo was posted on Sunday showing him taking a quiz in December 2020, at a time when Britons were being requested limit their social interactions.

– Thousands of demonstrators in Austria –

Thousands of demonstrators descended on several cities in Austria on Sunday to protest against the compulsory vaccination project and the anti-Covid restrictions, while the lockdown was lifted today for those vaccinated but remains in force for those who have not. not received an injection.

The mobilization was strongest in Graz (south), where the police counted some 17,000 people. In the west of the country, they were 9,000 in Bregenz, 6,000 in Innsbruck and 4,500 in Salzburg.

The day before, 44,000 people protested in Vienna, especially at the call of the extreme right. The police reported 771 tickets, mostly for breaches of the obligation to wear a mask.

– France: vaccination of children is “a necessity” (Castex) –

French Prime Minister Jean Castex estimated that the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 against Covid-19 was “a necessity”, in an interview with France Bleu Alsace.

“Vaccination of children is a necessity” between the ages of 5 and 11, the Prime Minister said on local radio, believing that the youngest “are transmitters” of the virus. “I am a living example,” he continued. “It was my 11 year old daughter who gave me the virus a few weeks ago.”

– More than 5.3 million dead –

The pandemic has killed at least 5,300,591 million people worldwide since the end of 2019, according to an assessment established by AFP from official sources, Sunday at 11:00 GMT.

The United States is the most bereaved country with 797,179 dead, ahead of Brazil (616,744), India (475,434), Mexico (296,620) and Russia (289,483).

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the toll of the pandemic in the world could be two to three times higher.