France is facing a surge of Covid-19, pushing the government to take new measures, in particular on the vaccination pass, teleworking, or even wearing a mask outdoors. Follow all the news related to the pandemic.
8:55 a.m.
The deputy and spokesperson for RN Sébastien Chenu called on the French not to “be robbed of the presidential election” by “the Covid news which kills any possible debate”, to the “satisfaction”, according to him, of Emmanuel Macron.
8:15 a.m.
The Omicron variant is now the majority among Covid-19 infections in France, where the virus has experienced “significant progression” in recent days, Public Health France noted.
“62.4% of the tests screened showed a profile compatible with the Omicron variant” at the beginning of the last week of the year, against 15% the previous one, the public agency found in its last weekly survey.
6:45 a.m.
Hospitalizations of children ill with Covid-19 in the United States have reached a high since the start of the pandemic, as the country faces an impressive outbreak of cases due to the Omicron variant.
Experts warn about the importance of vaccinating children, and point the finger in the first place to the very high contagiousness.
02:47
The NBA game between Denver and Golden State, scheduled for Thursday, has been postponed due to the incapacity of the Nuggets, decimated by injuries and positive cases in Covid, to line up eight players on the floor, announced the NBA.
00:38
South Africa, where the new variant of Covid-19 was detected last month, announced Thursday that it had passed the peak of the Omicron wave without a significant increase in the number of deaths. “All indicators suggest that the country has probably passed the peak of the fourth wave” of the pandemic, the presidency said in a statement, announcing the lifting of certain health restrictions and in particular the night curfew. “A marginal increase in the number of deaths has been observed in all provinces,” she continued.
00:32
The symbolic milestone of one million daily infections by Covid-19 in the world was crossed for the first time during the week of December 23 to 29, a few hours from the New Year festivities on which the pandemic will weigh once again. On average, 1,045,000 new daily cases were detected over the period, up 46% from the previous week, according to an AFP count on Thursday established from reports communicated by each country.
00h00
Quebec has announced the return of the night curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. throughout the province as of New Year’s Eve, when record contaminations due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant are identified in Canada.
