Coronavirus: France daily tally ‘could be 100,000’ as Europe fights Covid-19 onslaught
- France has set nighttime curfews as second wave surges through Europe
- Oxford vaccine produces immune response among elderly and young
Covid-19 has claimed the lives of 1.1 million people and infected more than 43 million globally.
Europe, US should learn from Asia in handling virus: WHO expert
“This is a dangerous moment for many countries in the northern hemisphere as cases spike,” WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
But he added that people were not powerless against the virus, stressing the importance of social distancing, hand washing, and meeting outdoors instead of inside.
“Again and again we have seen that taking the right actions quickly means the outbreak can be managed.”
France, the euro zone’s second-biggest economy, was examining whether to tighten lockdown measures further to curb the resurgence of the Covid-19 virus, having already imposed nighttime curfews on major cities including Paris.
The health ministry reported on Sunday a record 52,010 new confirmed coronavirus infections over a 24-hour period.
The new cases took the French total to 1,138,507, with France overtaking Argentina and Spain in registering the world’s fifth-highest number of cases.
Covid-19 vaccine test volunteer who died during trial had received a placebo
But the real figure could be much higher, according to the head of the scientific council that advises France’s government on the pandemic.
“There is probably more than 50,000 cases per day. We estimate, on the scientific committee, that we are more in the region of 100,000 cases per day,” Professor Jean-Francois Delfraissy said on Monday.
The health ministry said 116 people had died from coronavirus infection in the 24 hours to Sunday, down from 137 a day earlier, taking total deaths to 34,761.
As the disease continued its relentless march across Europe, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the new state of emergency and overnight curfews across the entire country except for the Canary Islands.
“The situation we are going through is extreme,” Sanchez said.
The Spanish government faced a backlash on Monday over its plans to put the country under a six-month state of emergency.
Opposition parties said six months was too long, epidemiologists said this may be too little too late, and some citizens balked at nightly curfews.
Brazil approves import of Chinese vaccine that Bolsonaro previously refused
Italy – the epicentre of the first European outbreak – also ramped up restrictions on daily life, ordering the closure of theatres, cinemas and gyms and shutting bars and restaurants early.
Governments are struggling to balance new restrictions against the need to revive economies already battered by earlier draconian lockdowns after the virus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
But populations weary of social isolation and economic hardship have bristled at the tougher measures.
“This is going to destroy us,” said Augusto D’Alfonsi, who owns the Torricella family-run fish restaurant in Rome, after the new measures were announced. “We’ve already lost 50 per cent of our customers this year. Without government aid, we’re done for.”
Polish President Andrzej Duda infected with coronavirus
In Germany, Frankfurt became the latest city to cancel its traditional Christmas market. It usually attracts more than two million visitors who come to sip mulled wine, nibble on roasted chestnuts and shop for seasonal trinkets among a cluster of wooden chalets.
The United States remains the hardest-hit country on the planet, and on Saturday it set a daily record for new Covid-19 cases for the second straight day, at nearly 89,000, with a further surge expected as cold weather arrives.
The virus has become a central issue ahead of the November 3 election, with Democrat Joe Biden and Donald Trump sparring over the US president’s handling of the pandemic.
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Global coronavirus cases pass 40 million mark as infection rates rebound in the US and Europe
After the US, the worst affected countries are Brazil, India, Mexico and Britain, while Colombia is the latest country to record 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases.
There has been some positive developments in the global race for a vaccine.
The vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford produces an immune response in both elderly and young people and adverse reactions were lower among the elderly, British drug maker AstraZeneca Plc said.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said a vaccine was not yet ready though he was preparing logistics for a possible roll out. He said he expected the roll out to happen in the first half of 2021
Reuters, Bloomberg, Agence France-Presse
