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

– Germany: First crisis meeting for Scholz –

The new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will lead his first crisis meeting on Thursday with the 16 federal states of the country, which is in a very poor health situation despite a rush for the third vaccination doses in the last few days.

Germany recorded more than 70,000 new infections and 465 deaths on Thursday, and the country’s vaccination commission is due to issue an opinion on vaccinating children later in the day.

– First cases of Omicron in Lebanon –

The health minister announced that two first cases of the contagious Omicron variant were discovered in Lebanon during screenings at the airport. The two travelers came from “Africa” ​​and are “in quarantine”.

– China approves treatment of Covid –

China first gave the green light to treatment for Covid-19 two years after the disease hit its soil amid a recovery in the epidemic.

In a notice released on Wednesday, the National Medicines Agency said it had granted “emergency approval” to a Chinese monoclonal antibody-based treatment.

The injection-administered treatment was jointly developed by the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, No.3 Hospital in Shenzhen (south) and Brii Biosciences. Clinical studies show it can reduce hospital stays and the risk of frail patient dying by 80%, according to Tsinghua University.

– Denmark / Mink Crisis: The Prime Minister is resisting –

The Danish Prime Minister was appointed to a parliamentary committee on Thursday, defending her “good” decision to slaughter the 15 million mink bred in her country to avoid mutations from Covid-19.

Arriving at the boos of a hundred demonstrators who have gathered in front of the Frederiksberg Court in Copenhagen, Mette Frederiksen is threatened with a trial in a special court, as there is no legal basis for her controversial decision from the beginning of November 2020.

It was the discovery of a problematic mutation of the coronavirus in minks that could be contaminated with Covid-19 as well as infect people that imposed this brutal decision.

– Foot: postponement of the game C4 Tottenham-Rennes –

The Europa League conference game between Tottenham and Rennes planned for Thursday evening in London has been postponed to an unspecified time due to Covid 19 cases in the English team, UEFA said.

A sign that the current coronavirus outbreak is catching up with European football, eight players and five employees tested positive at Tottenham, while Leicester is traveling to Naples for the Europa League without seven of their players.

– More than 5.2 million dead –

The pandemic has killed at least 5,278,777 people worldwide since late 2019, according to a report compiled by AFP from official sources on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. GMT.

The United States is the country with the most survivors, with 793,228 deaths, followed by Brazil (616,251), India (474,111), Mexico (295,894) and Russia (286,004).

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the toll of the pandemic could be two to three times higher worldwide.

burs-ang / mw / clr