(Geneva) The WHO expressed concern on Monday about the too large number of countries which, faced with the virus, “are taking the wrong direction” and warned that the return to normalcy was not for tomorrow, whereas cities continue to reconfigure and that South America is now the second most bereaved region.
Published on 13 July 2020 at 6 a.m. 37 Updated to 14 h 21
Agnes PEDRERO with AFP offices around the world
France Media Agency
“Too many countries are going in the wrong direction,” said the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “If basic principles are not followed, this pandemic can only go in one direction. It will get worse and worse, “he said.
“I want to be frank with you: there will be no return to the old normal in the foreseeable future”, he said again, the day after a record day of 230 00 0 new cases of coronavirus.
In Morocco, the city of Tangier, populated by around one million inhabitants, was to be reconfigured from Monday noon after the outbreak of epidemic foci.
Public transport will be suspended there, cafes, shopping malls, markets and public spaces closed, and controls strengthened, so that residents leave their homes “only in cases of extreme necessity,” said the ministry. inside.
This is also the case in the Philippines where approximately 250 00 0 residents of Manila will again be confined after an outbreak of cases.
The situation in Catalonia is the subject of a standoff between the regional authorities who want to reconfigure their homes near 200 00 0 people from the city of Lleida and surrounding municipalities, and the justice which opposes it.
While the city court “decided not to ratify” these measures “contrary to the law”, the Catalan regional independence president, Quim Torra, said Monday that he would adopt a decree law for the impose.
In the streets of Lleida, the shops often remained open just like the terraces of the cafes and the residents, masked, continued to go out, but the population was disconcerted.
“If one says one thing, the other says the opposite, the people themselves do not know what they can or cannot do”, noted Eugène Badila, commercial agent of 41 years, while her colleague, Sabrina Pigaro, 32 years, ruled: “We should confine ourselves again for a while, until let it all be over. ”
Latin America, second most affected region
Latin America and the Caribbean on Monday became the second region most affected in the world by the pandemic, behind Europe, with more 144 840 officially registered deaths.
It thus exceeds the balance sheets of the United States and Canada (more than 144 220 dead).
Brazil is the most bereaved country in the region and counts alone 72 100 death. And the epidemic knows no respite: it is the country to have recorded the most new deaths in 24 hours (631 dead), followed by India (500) and the United States (334).
In Colombia, containment is tightened from Monday in Bogota, after the relaxation decided by the government due to the economic collapse. Until 23 August, zones are set in ” strict quarantines ”, in order to leave 2.5 million people at home in turn.
In South Africa, the most affected country on the continent, President Cyril Ramaphosa decided to reimpose a curfew on Sunday due to the increase in daily cases of contamination. Family visits will also be prohibited.
Please limit parties in Sydney
Concern remains as strong in Australia: after the reconfiguration for six weeks decided last Thursday for Melbourne, the second city of the country, the inhabitants of Sydney were asked Monday to limit Monday the festive evenings after the appearance of 'a new outbreak in a pub.
In the United States, where the number of deaths is 135 400, the pandemic continues to flare up particularly in large southern states, and the mayors of several large cities are considering or demanding a reconfiguration.
In Miami, the number of COVID patients – 19 in intensive care is seven times higher than it was in March and April, according to the mayor, Francis Suarez. “It is out of control,” he said. As for a reconfiguration, “we have to consider it,” he said, deferring to the day when hospitals tell him they can no longer cope.
As for the economic effects of the health crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is still pessimistic for the Middle East. It lowered its growth forecast to its lowest level in half a century, due to the “double shock” of low oil prices and the pandemic.
The UN warns of the global recession due to the new coronavirus was likely to push towards hunger between 83 and 132 millions more people.
The pandemic caused more than 569 879 worldwide since the World Health Organization (WHO) office in China reported the disease in late December.
