in Ile-de-France, 11 confirmed cases of the English variant, around 40 suspected cases

8:58 am: “The variant will expand if no action is taken “

“I am very concerned about this English variant,” Jean-François Delfraissy, President of the Scientific Council, said on Wednesday morning on Franceinfo.

He spoke of “a race of speed” in the face of the “inevitable appearance” of the British variant in France.

He assures us: “In any case, we will have an extension of the English variant if measures are not taken”.

But he also indicates that “France is in a paradoxical situation” with figures which do not explode. He had indicated Tuesday evening on TF1 that “we are not in an extreme emergency”.

8:40 am: In Ile-de-France, 11 confirmed cases of the English variant

Aurélien Rousseau, director of the Regional Health Agency of Ile-de-France, said on BFMTV this Wednesday morning, that there are “11 confirmed cases of the English variant and around forty suspected cases in Ile-de-France. France”.

8:38 am: “This virus is more contagious so it will gain ground”

The infectious disease specialist Catherine Hill, guest of LCI this Wednesday morning, deplores that in France on the British variant “we do not sequence much, this virus is more contagious so it will gain ground”.

And to recall: “We do not test enough, the virus continues to circulate in secret with the asymptomatic”.

Catherine Hill also thinks that leaving schools open, in terms of health, “it’s not a very good idea. Schools are good for getting infected,” she underlines.

7.55 am: Hotel and restaurant suppliers cry out for help

Beverage wholesalers and other hotel and catering suppliers, “shadow trades” also ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, want to benefit from the same aid as cafes, restaurants and hotels, because their losses are the same scale and the horizon remains dark.

However, these suppliers do not benefit from the same support from the State and are today “in danger” with a first half of 2021 which promises to be bleak.

The solidarity fund will be expanded to benefit wholesale beverage or food businesses, wine growers or tourist residences, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday, promising an imminent announcement.

7:52 a.m .: Second wave of Covid-19 in Peru

Peru is experiencing a second wave of Covid-19 with a sharp increase in recent days in recorded cases of contamination. The country has seen a significant increase in the number of cases and the number of deaths linked to the coronavirus since mid-December. The number of hospitalizations has risen sharply over the past five weeks.

7:49 am: Overwhelmed, Panama will rent refrigerated containers to store corpses

Panama’s health ministry is considering renting refrigerated containers to keep the corpses of coronavirus victims due to the saturation of hospital mortuaries in areas most affected by the pandemic, including the capital.

7.45am: Mexico could buy 24 million doses of Russian vaccine

Mexico plans to purchase 24 million doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V if it receives approval from the country’s health authorities. The fourth most bereaved country in the world by Covid-19 (nearly 136,000 dead), Mexico could “soon vaccinate 12 million people”, because Sputnik V is administered in two injections according to the country’s authorities.

7:16 am: “We are not in an extreme emergency”

Asked about a possible reconfinement, on TF1, Tuesday evening, the president of the Scientific Council, Professor Jean-François Delfraissy, was reassuring. “We are not in an extreme emergency,” he said, “because the figures are quite paradoxical”. “So let’s leave maybe a few days to finish looking at the consequences of December 31”.

He explained, however, that the English variant represented “a potential danger” in which to act. “If we do nothing, we will see several tens of thousands of this English virus by the time of April,” he warned.

6:56 am: A variant from Brazil detected in Japan

Japan will analyze a new variant of the coronavirus which was discovered in two adults and two children who arrived in Japan on January 2 from Brazil. Authorities do not know for the moment whether this variant is more contagious or more dangerous than other variants already identified in the world. Find all the details in our article by clicking on this link.

6:22 am: Recovery plan in Italy

The Italian government adopted on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday an ambitious stimulus plan of 222.9 billion euros to revive an economy damaged by the coronavirus pandemic. “The Council of Ministers has approved the” RecoveryPlan “, the largest investment plan ever launched in Italy”, announced the Minister of the Economy, Roberto Gualtieri.

6:18 am: The United States records a record of nearly 4,500 dead in 24 hours

The United States largely exceeded its previous record for daily deaths on Tuesday, deploring 4,470 deaths from the coronavirus in a single day.

6:15 am: A new defense council this Wednesday

A Health Defense Council could decide this Wednesday on new measures to contain the increase in coronavirus contamination and face its most contagious variant, which is starting to settle in France.

Prime Minister Jean Castex is due to present the conclusions on Thursday.

The authorities should take stock of the end-of-year celebrations and assess its impact on the Covid-19 epidemic.

6:10 am: Hello everyone. We welcome you to this live dedicated to the Covid-19 epidemic.