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

– Macron will address the French –

For the ninth time since the beginning of the Covid crisis, President Emmanuel Macron will give a solemn address to the French on Tuesday evening to promote the vaccine booster in the face of the resurgence of the epidemic and to discuss the priorities for the end of his five-year term.

At this point, only 3.4 million of the 7.7 million French people eligible for a third dose had been re-vaccinated. Several scenarios are considered. In particular, the executive could announce the decision to make the booster dose dependent on the maintenance of the health passport for people over 65.

– Singapore: Unvaccinated people pay their medical expenses –

Singapore will suspend medical bills for coronavirus patients who have vaccinated, said authorities in the Southeast Asian city-state, where the health system is under pressure.

– New Zealand: protest against restrictions –

Several thousand protesters demonstrated in New Zealand on Tuesday against restrictions to combat the spread of Covid-19 and mobilized a large police operation in Wellington.

– Reward promised by a Chinese city –

The Chinese city of Heihe, which is separated from Russia by the Amur, is offering 100,000 yuan (€ 13,500) as a reward for clues about the origin of a local upswing in coronavirus cases.

China, where Covid-19 was detected for the first time almost two years ago, has brought the infection under control with the help of radical measures: systematic screening, border closings, vaccinations.

However, the country has faced sporadic outbreaks of the epidemic, particularly in its northern part since late October. The authorities are reacting firmly and want to stop the contamination as the Beijing Olympics approaches in February.

– Anti-Semitism intensified by the pandemic –

The Covid-19 pandemic has “rekindled” anti-Semitic rhetoric and led to “new myths and conspiracy theories that blame Jews for the current health crisis,” said a published report by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights based in Vienna Tuesday.

– Soccer: 5 German players in quarantine –

Five players in the German squad were quarantined after one of them tested positive, the German Football Association (DFB) announced on Tuesday.

The infected player was fully vaccinated and currently asymptomatic, said the DFB, without revealing his identity. The daily Bild claims that it is center-back Niklas Süle, the pillar of FC Bayern Munich.

– More than five million dead –

The pandemic has killed more than 5,053,909 people worldwide since late December 2019, according to a report produced by AFP on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. GMT.

The United States is the country with the most deaths (755,643), ahead of Brazil (609,573), India (461,389), Mexico (289,811), and Russia (249,215).

Taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, the WHO estimates that the toll of the pandemic could be two to three times higher than officially determined.

burs-ang / ber / clr