Covid-19: Spain, Greece and Switzerland lift restrictions, while Russia worries about an “explosive” situation

LiveHealth

The improvement continues on the front of the epidemic in France, but the emergence of the Delta variant, and the weaker mobilization to get vaccinated (as in the United States), could reshuffle the cards.

The essentials

The events of Wednesday June 23:

9:50 p.m. This is the end of this live, thank you for watching! For new information on the epidemic, go tomorrow morning to the Parisian website. Enjoy the rest of the evening.

9:20 p.m. In the United States, a clinical study is examining the effects of vaccination in pregnant women or women who have just given birth. The American National Institutes of Health announced on Thursday that they had started this study, according to Reuters. Its objective: to evaluate the safety of the vaccine and to determine whether pregnant and vaccinated women transmit protection to their babies via the placenta or milk.

9 p.m. Israel postpones arrival of tourists amid spike in cases. “Due to concerns about the possible spread of the Delta variant, the government has postponed the entry of tourists for a month, to August 1,” said the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.

Some vaccinated tourists, traveling in small groups and coming from certain countries only, will nevertheless be allowed to enter Israel but will have to take two PCR tests - one carried out 72 hours before departure and one on arrival - as well as a serological test, said a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Tourism.

8:40 p.m. More than half of the Spanish population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, reports the Ministry of Health, according to Reuters. In total, more than 37.6 million doses have been injected, and more than 15 million people have a complete vaccination schedule. On Saturday, the country will enter a new phase of lifting restrictions, with the end of the obligation to wear a mask outdoors.

7:53 p.m. A survey of heart problems in vaccinated young people. American experts met in the United States on Wednesday to examine some 300 cases of inflammation in the heart triggered after the injection of certain vaccines against Covid-19, in particular in adolescents or young adults. These cases were observed after the vaccines of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, which have in common to be based on messenger RNA technology.

7:33 p.m. 2,320 new cases of Covid-19 have been detected in the past 24 hours, still according to data from Public Health France.

7:15 p.m. Vaccination is advancing. “32,677,781 people received at least one injection (i.e. 48.8% of the total population and 62.2% of the adult population) and 17,601,838 people received two injections (i.e. 26.3% of the total population and 33.5% of the adult population). 19,677,506 people have a complete vaccination schedule, ”announces the Directorate General of Health in a new report.

6:52 p.m. Less than 10,000 people hospitalized in France. According to Public Health France, 9,771 people are currently hospitalized following a Covid-19 infection. Of this total, 1,509 patients are in critical care. The health institute also counts 33 new deaths.

6:30 p.m. First head to head between Queen Elizabeth II and Boris Johnson. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II held her weekly audience with the Prime Minister on Wednesday, for the first time in person since March 2020. After more than a year talking by phone, the 95-year-old sovereign and the head of the Conservative government, both vaccinated against Covid-19, met at Buckingham Palace.

6:20 p.m. Towards further lifting of restrictions in Canada. Border restrictions will be lifted in the coming weeks if the health situation allows, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced, according to Reuters.

5:55 p.m. Greece ends the mandatory outdoor mask. With the improvement of the health situation, Greece will also lift the curfew from Monday, said Deputy Minister for Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias. “The number of intubated people and deaths is decreasing every day. The current situation is encouraging, ”assured Vana Papaevaggelou, a member of the Greek scientific committee responsible for guiding the government in the measures taken to stem the coronavirus epidemic.

5:12 p.m. Brussels validates the French recovery plan, announces the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. France has received the green light from the European Commission for its 100 billion euro recovery plan, of which nearly 40 billion euros will be financed by European subsidies.

5:05 p.m. First cases of the Delta variant reported in Ukraine. The country today registered two first cases of the more infectious variant, according to the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov, quoted by Reuters. The two infected people are a mother and her daughter who were returning from Russia.

4:55 p.m. A salty addition. The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics has already cost the organization 2.5 billion euros, when these Games were already considered the most expensive in the history of Olympism. We explain why in this article.

4:45 p.m. Easing of restrictions in Switzerland. As of Saturday, it will be easier to return to Switzerland: the quarantine obligation is lifted for people entering the country from the Schengen area and screening is only compulsory for travelers arriving by air who have not been vaccinated and who do not have the status of cured persons. In the country, outdoor restrictions have almost all been removed and, in the first place, wearing a mask will no longer be compulsory.

"We are of the opinion that the situation today makes it possible to take an important step forward", explained Alain Berset, the Federal Councilor in charge of health, during a press conference, noting that: “we find ourselves, on the eve of the summer holidays, in a situation which is quite enviable”. He pointed out in particular that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines used in Switzerland “also protect well against the Delta variant”.

4:40 p.m. In Texas, more than 150 hospital workers refusing mandatory vaccinations have been fired or resigned. Houston Methodist Hospital had given staff members until June 7 to certify their vaccinations, with at least a first dose. An internal note specified that the recalcitrant would be suspended for two weeks without pay, then dismissed. As a result, 153 employees “either resigned during the two-week suspension period or were terminated today,” according to company spokeswoman Gale Smith.

4:35 p.m. Towards an “explosive” situation in Russia. Noting that Covid-19 cases are “on the rise in all Russian regions” and an “explosive spread of the disease”, the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Health, Tatiana Golikova, called for strengthening restriction measures and speeding up vaccinations.

“Last week, the Covid-related death rate increased by 21.3% compared to previous months,” said Ms. Golikova, as Russia records thousands of new cases and hundreds of additional deaths every day. .

4:25 p.m. IMF calls for strong cooperation to help Africa. “Africa is now facing the world's fastest growing rate of new Covid cases,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva stressed. . “It is a human tragedy and an economic calamity,” she added during an intervention at the annual meeting of the African Development Bank. Only 0.6% of the African adult population is vaccinated.

4:20 p.m. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) calls for accelerated vaccinations against the Delta variant. European Union are not yet fully vaccinated, according to the ECDC, which brings together the 27 countries of the European Union as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. “At this point, it becomes crucial that the second dose of vaccine is administered within the minimum interval allowed after the first dose, in order to accelerate the rate at which vulnerable people are protected,” pleaded Andrea Ammon, director of the agency.

4:07 p.m. Still weighed down by Covid-19, the Social Security deficit is revised upwards to 38.4 billion euros in 2021, according to a report by the Social Security Accounts Commission. < /b>Despite better-than-expected revenues thanks to a less-than-dreaded recession last year, the persistent cost of the epidemic - and the vaccination campaign - continues to weigh on the health branch, which slightly degrades the forecast for deficit compared to the 35.8 billion losses recorded in the budget voted in December.

3:55 p.m. Delta variant: Portugal recognizes mistakes. Portugal could have “acted differently” to prevent the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, recognized the Minister of Health Marta Temido, whose country was cited as a bad example of the absence of common European rules on travel by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Portugal had opened to British tourists for three weeks, while the Delta variant, which came from India, circulated in the United Kingdom. “If we had known everything we know today, could we have acted differently at certain times? No doubt, yes. But it is impossible to rewrite history,” the minister told the media.

3:37 p.m. The Delta variant is expected to account for 90% of new cases in the EU by the end of August, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. While the Alpha variant detected in the UK currently remains predominant in the region, the European agency's modeling predicts that the Delta variant, initially detected in India, will account for 70% of new infections in the EU by early August and 90 % by the end of August.

3:35 p.m. In New York, the Morgan Stanley bank prohibits access to the office to its employees and customers not vaccinated. The Morgan Stanley bank will impose from July 12 on its employees and subcontractors but also on its customers and visitors to be vaccinated against Covid-19 if they want to access one of its offices. This new rule applies to offices hosting a large number of people in the New York metropolis and its surroundings.

3:25 p.m. Reopening of nightclubs: an experiment in Paris. 2000 people vaccinated and without masks will gather at the Cabaret Sauvage and the Machine du Moulin Rouge on Saturday evening for an experiment. This scientific study comes two weeks before nightclubs reopen on July 9.

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3:15 p.m. Sputnik V vaccine: WHO detects problems at a production site, Russia assures that they are resolved. The WHO Prequalification Department has issued a memorandum listing a number of issues discovered during an inspection between May 31 and June 4 at a Pharmstandard manufacturing site - Ufa Vitamin in the city of Ufa, in the south-west of Russia. In particular, the inspectors found problems in the monitoring data of the manufacturing process and quality control.

In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that there were "certain shortcomings identified by the inspection group, and as far as we know, they were taken into account and everything what needed to be changed has been changed”.

3 p.m. In Israel, contamination is rising slightly. Several clusters have been identified and the Israeli government is stepping up measures to bring this situation under control as quickly as possible. Vaccination has leveled off (at a high level) for more than two months. Decryption in our article.

2:45 p.m. Faced with health constraints, the Eurockéennes will take place in a reduced format. The Eurockéennes de Belfort festival, canceled this year in its normal version, will still organize a mini-event from July 20 to 24, with a gauge of 1,000 spectators per day. The theme of this festival, entitled "Les Eurockéennes en residence secondaire" is the change of scenery, with artists having "an accent, a foreign accent or a visual accent", explains Jean-Paul Roland, the director of this event which normally attracts nearly 130,000 spectators.

2:20 p.m. Do football matches and Covid-19 go hand in hand? While a few cases of Covid-19 have been identified after matches in Denmark, the party continues in European stadiums almost as if nothing has happened. 'was. The increase in the gauge for the semi-finals and the final in the United Kingdom in particular raises fears of a resurgence of the epidemic. More information in our article.

1:45 p.m. Namibia, Seychelles and Russia placed on red list for travel, according to Gabriel Attal. This list concerns countries “in which active circulation of the virus is observed with the presence of worrying variants”, recalls the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Only French citizens can return from these countries, with compelling reasons, and following a mandatory quarantine. The list already includes Afghanistan, South Africa, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Paraguay, Sri Lanka, Suriname and Uruguay.

1:40 p.m. Self-tests on vacation. Government spokesman Gabriel Attal also announced the "deployment of self-tests at leisure centers and summer camps" at the end of the Council of Ministers.

1:30 p.m. The Delta variant represents 70% of contamination in the Landes, according to Gabriel Attal. At the end of the Defense Council, the government spokesperson estimated that the variant which he had deemed in the morning to be "worrying" represents 9 to 10% of contamination in France. Jean Castex and Olivier Véran will go to the Landes on Thursday.

1:15 p.m. 3,884,538 deaths worldwide since the start of the pandemic. More than 179,071,540 cases of infection have been officially diagnosed since the start of the epidemic. On Tuesday, 9,057 new deaths and 370,221 new cases were recorded worldwide. The countries that have recorded the most new deaths in their latest reports are Brazil with 2,131 new deaths, India (1,358) and Argentina (791).

12:48 p.m. The pandemic is forcing Tokyo-2020 to make numerous refunds. One month before the opening ceremony, the organizers announced that they had refunded 840,000 tickets out of the 4.48 million sold during the initial lottery. The gauge being limited to 10,000 spectators per event, a new raffle will take place to reduce the number of spectators to 2.72 million. The results will be given on July 6 and the unlucky will have ten days to get their ticket refunded.

12:42 p.m. In England, there are a very large number of ventilated patients. The deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Britain's public health body, Saffron Cordery, says the number of Covid patients hospitalized on ventilation beds has risen by 41% in the past week, to 227. The minister British vaccine director Nadhim Zahawi is due to hold a press conference at 5 p.m.

12:30 p.m. India is concerned about a “delta plus” variant. This variant of the variant was detected in 16 cases in the state of Maharashtra. According to the Indian Ministry of Health, this “delta plus” has increased transmissibility. Between Monday and Tuesday, India reported 42,640 new infections in 24 hours, the lowest figure since March 23, and 1,167 deaths.

12:20 p.m. Sydney reconfigured. The inhabitants of seven districts of the largest Australian city must, since this morning, justify a compelling reason to leave. This measure is taken to prevent the spread of the delta variant after the discovery of a cluster in the Bondi Beach area. Bars and restaurants remain open but dancing and singing are prohibited.

12:05 p.m. Vaccination of teenagers: the presence of a parent is not compulsory. Ameli, the Social Security website, has updated its recommendations. If parental authorization to vaccinate a teenager aged 12 to 17, "signed by both parents", is mandatory, the presence of a parent on D-Day is "a recommendation", "not an obligation".

11:50 a.m. Tokyo Olympics: a second positive case of Covid-19 linked to the Ugandan delegation.

10:45 a.m. French spirits manufacturers see the glass half full. The first months of 2021 mark the return to "reasonable optimism" for French spirits manufacturers, who are facing a steady decline in consumption in France and to international markets blocked due to the health crisis. However, a big cloud has moved away since the "welcome agreement" between the United States and the European Union, in mid-June, which suspended for five years the punitive customs duties that they inflicted on each other, in particular on spirits, in the context of the old dispute over public aid to their aircraft manufacturers.

10:15 a.m. The Court of Auditors is concerned about the deficit. According to the institution, France will lag behind the other major European economies in 2024 and asks the government to specify the expected efforts on spending. By planning to bring its deficit below 3% of GDP in 2027 and to begin a slow reduction in the public debt ratio from 2026, the government has defined a trajectory "out of step with most of our European partners", notes Court in its report on the situation and outlook for public finances. By 2024, the French deficit would stand at 3.9% of GDP, i.e. "the highest" of the main countries in the euro zone, even if those of Italy, Spain and Belgium also remained above 3 %.

9:35 a.m. Disappointing rise in private sector activity in June. Private sector activity in France is improving. The composite flash index that measures it recovered to 57.1 in June from 57 in May. But economists were counting on 59. In services, the index stands at 57.4 (56.6 in May), the highest for 38 months. The market was looking for 59.4. The manufacturing index reached 58.6 (59.4 in May), the lowest in four months. The consensus gave it at 59.

9:10 a.m. In Haiti, gang violence jeopardizes the fight against the epidemic. Gang violence in Port-au-Prince jeopardizes efforts to limit the spread of Covid-19 in Haiti. Hundreds of families have been forced to crowd into precarious shelters. In addition, the gangs control the main roads and prevent the free movement of patients and medical personnel, and complicate the supply of oxygen and other resources necessary for the treatment of Covid-19. Faced with the urgency of the situation, the United Nations released a million dollars "to help meet some of the immediate needs", without specifying which ones. The UN has also called for "an end to the violence" and for humanitarian actors to have unhindered access to the displaced people in order to provide them with the assistance they so desperately need.

8:35 a.m. "There is absolute vigilance on the Delta variant", according to Gabriel Attal. The government spokesperson on BFM TV believes that this variant is a source of concern as it is increasingly present.

8:30 a.m. Fewer deliveries of Pfizer vaccines in July. According to Clément Beaune, Secretary of State for European Affairs, deliveries will decrease “because the laboratories had been asked to speed up their pace to prepare for the summer. We will also speed up the start of the school year, ”he assured France Inter.

8:10 a.m. The Livret A account is a little less successful. The collection of the Livret A account fell in May to 1.8 billion euros against 2.95 billion in April. However, the Livret A remains a popular investment despite a historically low interest rate of 0.5%. The French saved around 142 billion euros more than normal between the end of the first quarter of 2020 and the end of the first quarter of 2021, the Banque de France estimated.

8 hours. Cruise passengers ready to cast off in Marseille. On July 4, two "giants of the seas" will leave the port of Marseille, after more than a year's stoppage: MSC Cruises' SeaSide, and Costa Smeralda of Costa Cruises, the two leaders in the sector in Europe. The planned health protocol is “draconian (…) with a level of security much higher than all other tourist sectors”, assures Erminio Eschina, president of the Cruise Lines International Association (Clia): anti-Covid tests before and after each exit from the boat , additional quarantine for the crew, mandatory "bubble" excursions supervised by the shipowner, limited gauge in the swimming pools...

7:40 a.m. 153 employees of a hospital in Houston, Texas fired for refusing to be vaccinated. Earlier this month, 178 employees of this hospital were suspended for 15 days, without pay, for refusing to take comply with orders. The hospital required all employees to be vaccinated. Employees had until June 7 to do so. Some took advantage of this forced leave to get vaccinated. After the two-week suspension, 153 employees were either fired or furloughed.

7:20 a.m. More than 40 million people at risk of hunger worldwide. More than 40 million people worldwide are at imminent risk of starvation due to soaring prices of staple foods, according to the Program world food (WFP). “We now have four countries (Ethiopia, Madagascar, South Sudan and Yemen) where conditions close to famine are present,” according to the WFP, which estimates the need at six billion dollars to provide assistance in 43 countries. With the crisis, global food prices rose in May to their highest levels in a decade, according to UN figures.

7:10 a.m. No alcohol, no cheers and no autographs at the Tokyo Olympics. One month before the opening, the organizers of the Tokyo Olympics have unveiled the contours with very strict rules that must be observed spectators during sports competition.

7 hours. An American committee is looking into heart problems in young vaccinated people. American experts are to meet to examine some 300 cases of inflammation in the heart triggered after the injection of certain vaccines, particularly in adolescents or young adults. These cases were observed after the vaccines of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, which have in common to be based on messenger RNA technology. “These cases are rare, and the vast majority (of them) have been resolved with rest and care,” reassured Rochelle Walensky, director of health services. More than 20 million teenagers and young adults have been vaccinated in the United States.

6:45 a.m. Ursula von der Leyen in Paris to approve the recovery plan. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Paris in the afternoon will give the green light from Brussels to the French recovery plan, financed in part by European subsidies. Of the 100 billion euros provided for in the French government's recovery plan, Paris should have 40 billion financed by Brussels.

6:30 a.m. An ephemeral record for the price of black gold. The price of Brent oil reached $75.30 at the start of the day in the United States, its highest level in more than two years. It then fell back to finish at $74.81, down 0.12%.

6:20 a.m. AstraZeneca vaccine effective against Delta variant. AstraZeneca has announced that its Covid-19 vaccine is effective against the Delta and Kappa variants of the coronavirus, according to a study by the British University of Oxford. According to the English health authority, the vaccines against Covid-19 developed by AstraZeneca and by Pfizer made it possible to avoid hospitalization due to the Delta variant of the coronavirus in more than 90% of cases.

6:15 a.m. Argentina postpones debt repayment. Argentina says it has reached an agreement with Paris Club creditors to postpone repayment of its $2.4 billion debt until March 2022. This postponement should allow him not to find himself in default of payment from July 31.

6:10 a.m. 70% of the American adult population will not be vaccinated on July 4th. The United States is likely to fail to meet President Joe Biden's goal of having at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine reach 70% of the adult American population by the 4th July. According to White House officials, the numbers should be around 67%. This is Joe Biden's first setback. “The country still has work to do (…) particularly with 18-26 year olds,” said White House health adviser Jeffrey Zients, adding: “The reality is that many young Americans have felt that Covid-19 was not something that affected them, and they were less likely to get an injection.”

6:05 a.m. Israel warns of a “new wave” after a rise in cases. Israeli authorities have recorded 125 new cases, in a country where more than half the population has received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. 19. This increase in the number of patients is attributed to the Delta variant, introduced into Israel by travelers.

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