The new Corona virus has killed more than 1.5 million people in the world, while its spread is accelerating in the United States, where it recorded a new absolute record of the number of infections in one day, as well as in Brazil, where The number of deaths exceeded 175,000.
One million and 504 thousand and 984 deaths out of the more than 65 million injuries in the world have been counted since the first injuries were announced in China last December, according to a toll prepared by Agence France-Presse based on figures published by the health authorities as of 0750 GMT Friday.
Since November 24, more than ten thousand deaths have been recorded in the world every day on average, at an unprecedented level.
However, vaccination campaigns appear to be imminent in a number of countries.
And in the United States, which is paying the highest price for the epidemic with the death of 276,000 people, Thursday recorded more than 210,000 infections in one day, a record since the beginning of the epidemic, according to Johns Hopkins University reference.
In California, Governor Gavin Newsom said Thursday that the number of hospitalized patients "has increased by 86 percent in the past 14 days." He announced that unnecessary gatherings and activities will be prohibited in all areas where the epidemic could lead to hospitals exceeding capacity.
American health officials have warned that the trips made by millions of Americans a week ago on the occasion of Thanksgiving may cause "an outbreak of the disease adding to the outbreak now," according to the respected immunologist Anthony Fauci.
Fauci, who was the target of violent attacks by outgoing President Donald Trump, was invited to be part of President-elect Joe Biden´s team to combat Covid-19.
In figures related to deaths, the toll in the United Kingdom, the most affected country in Europe, crossed the threshold of sixty thousand, according to the health authorities. And there were 414 additional deaths recorded on Thursday, bringing the total to 60,113 deaths.
Italy also recorded a record number of deaths within 24 hours, amounting to 993, which is greater than the number of deaths recorded on March 27 (969), according to the latest official toll published on Thursday, which showed a decrease in the number of injuries.
The British government announced that it will begin administering the vaccine against Corona next week, to residents and workers in homes for the elderly. On Wednesday, it became the first country to approve the use of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and Biontech against Covid-19.
And since Monday, Moderna, Pfizer / Biontech has submitted my applications for a license to the US Drug Administration. In the event of getting a green light, the two vaccines may be available at the end of the year.
Moderna announced Thursday that it will provide between 100 million and 125 million doses of the vaccine in the first quarter of 2021, of which between 80 and 100 million will go to the United States, and between 15 and 25 million will be distributed in the world.
And confirmed at the same time that twenty million doses will be available in the United States before the end of this year.
To encourage Americans to get vaccinated, Biden and former US presidents Barack Obama, George Bush Jr. and Bill Clinton announced that they are ready to receive the vaccine against Covid-19 publicly.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed Thursday the start of licensing Covid-19 vaccines, but believed that this would not be sufficient to reinvent a prosperous world without other long-term efforts. "We must not be fooled," he said, pointing out that "a vaccine cannot repair the damage that may extend for years or even decades to come."
He added, in the opening of a virtual special session of the United Nations General Assembly, that "extreme poverty is increasing, and the threat of famine looms. We are facing the largest global recession in eight decades."
In Brazil, a scientific committee recommended, especially this week, to close schools and ban beaches in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil recorded more than 700 deaths in Corona in one day for the first time since mid-November, so that Thursday the number exceeded the threshold of 175,000, according to official data confirming the acceleration of the spread of the epidemic.
Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has questioned preventive measures since the start of the pandemic. But infectious disease expert Julio Crouda of the University of Mato Grosso de Sol said in an interview with Agence France-Presse, "If preventive measures are not taken (...) we will witness a tragedy."
As for Mexico, which has a population of 128 million, it has recorded more than one million injuries and just over 107,000 deaths. And injuries that require hospitalization are on the rise in the capital, Mexico.
Disappointment prevails in Quebec, eastern Canada. Provincial Prime Minister Francois Lego announced Thursday that he had rescinded his decision to allow all Quebecers to gather for four days at Christmas, with no more than ten attendees.
This will no longer be allowed in areas in the "red zone" such as Montreal or Quebec, where eighty percent of the province´s eight million people live.
Speaking of the health workers in Quebec, Mr. Lego stressed that they are "very tired and tired".
On Thursday, Morocco decided to extend the health emergency imposed since March, another month until January 10, to address the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic, while the Kingdom hopes to launch a vaccination campaign by the end of the year.
This extension comes while the epidemic has intensified in the Kingdom in recent months, with daily injuries exceeding five thousand most often, while the total number of injured exceeded 364 thousand, of whom nearly six thousand died and more than 314 thousand recovered, according to the latest official toll.
The Hamas Ministry of Interior in the Gaza Strip announced, on Thursday evening, strict measures in light of the increasing number of people infected with the new Corona virus.
Among these measures are the closure of mosques, schools, universities, kindergartens and weekly popular markets, starting from next Saturday, and the banning of curfews for the entire Friday and Saturday of the week from next Friday until the end of this month.
