Coronavirus: the world’s worst day

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded more than 692,000 new coronavirus infections and 13,000 deaths worldwide in the past 24 hours, the worst daily figures in nearly a year of the pandemic.

The slight drop in global daily cases seen two weeks ago, thanks mainly to the drop in infections in Europe, has not consolidated and global figures are on the rise again, indicating that the current wave is far from being finished.

America, with 29.7 million cases, recorded a record 328,000 new positives, while Europe, with 21.4 million infections, reported 273,000, a far cry from a month ago but showing an increase in infections compared to last week.

The third most affected region, South Asia, with 11.3 million cases, nevertheless shows a decrease in daily infections.

United States, two days after starting its mass vaccination plan after being cleared to use the one developed by Pfizer, recorded 3,309 deaths and 231,775 cases in the past 24 hours, in both cases a record since the start of the pandemic, in addition to the historic mark of 108,044 new hospitalizations in one day.

With 15,851,735 cases and 1,597,212 deaths, the United States last night became the sixth country to give the green light to the Pfizer vaccine and the first step includes vaccinating about three million people. Health officials have recommended that health workers and residents of nursing homes be given priority, although decisions are left to state governments.

France, The European country with the most cases of coronavirus, has recorded 13,947 new infections and the figure exceeds 2.4 million, in addition to 199 deaths which now stand at 57,761, while the rate of positivity in diagnostic tests is 6.3%, far below the 21% it reached at the end of October, when the second confinement was imposed, which will continue until December 15.

French authorities announced that the six-week lockdown would be lifted on Tuesday, instituting a nighttime curfew instead. And in a blow to the cultural sector, it was decided that museums, theaters, concert halls and cinemas would remain closed, as well as bars and restaurants, a measure the sector said it would resort to. to justice to force the government to allow them to reopen. and recover some losses caused by the health crisis.

Italy, which is the European country with the most deaths, today recorded a further drop in the number of daily coronavirus deaths from yesterday’s peak of 887, verifying 649 deaths, but the number of cases detected during the last 24 hours reached 19,903, a thousand more than the day before.

So far, the toll of the disease on Italian soil is 64,036, while the number of people infected is 1,825,775.

Germany recorded 28,438 new cases in the past 24 hours, a figure close to its historic maximum, and has passed 1.3 million infected. In addition, it has reported 496 new deaths, almost 100 fewer deaths than the 598 reported yesterday, a record number since the start of the pandemic, which totaled 21,466.

In Asia, cases declined in India, the second-most affected country with 9.8 million infections, but in Japan, 3,041 new infections were reported on the last day, the highest daily number since the start of the pandemic, a figure that reached 179,000, while the death toll rose to 2,588.

Japan will provide free vaccines to the 126 million people of the country, under a bill passed last week by the upper house of parliament, after obtaining the approval of the lower house. He has already ordered vaccines for 60 million people from Pfizer and another 25 million from Moderna, in addition to confirming that he would receive 120 million doses of AstraZeneca.

In South AmericaWith Brazil in third place in the ranking of countries with the most cases, infections continue to rise and reach nearly 6.8 million, while deaths exceed 180,000. The government yesterday announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Pfizer laboratory for the purchase of 70 million doses,

Rio de Janeiro It is on the verge of the collapse of intensive care beds but at the same time it already accounts for almost 60% of hotel reservations for tourists who will spend the Christmas and 2021 holidays in the wonderful city, despite the fact that this year they canceled the popular celebrations on the beaches.

Acting Governor Claudio Castro and outgoing Mayor Marcelo Crivella, who will step down in January after losing his re-election, have announced measures to restrict crowds in parks and beach walks in Flamengo, Copacabana, Ipanema , Leblón and Barra de Tijuca, despite the fact that it is allowed to be on the beach and to enter the sea.

In Chile, the Santiago de Chile metropolitan region today began a quarantine over the weekends that restricts the movement of people in the face of an 18% increase in coronavirus cases in the capital, as the country reports a total of nearly of 570,000 infections and more than 15,800 deaths from the disease.