(Paris) New measures, new reports and highlights: an update on the latest developments in the COVID-19 pandemic around the world.
Updated yesterday at 9:56 p.m.
Still wreaking havoc on jobs (UN)
The pandemic continues to wreak havoc on jobs around the world and a return to pre-health crisis levels could take years, the UN said on Monday.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) has been forced to revise its forecast for a labor market recovery sharply down this year, in particular due to the impact of the Delta and Omicron variants, which have hit the vast majority of countries hard. in the world.
JO-2022: China gives up selling tickets
Cold snap on the Beijing Winter Olympics: the organizing committee announced on Monday that it was canceling the sale of tickets to the general public due to an epidemic rebound, less than three weeks before the start of the events.
United Kingdom: increase in risky alcohol consumption
The number of Britons with alcohol consumption considered dangerous has increased sharply since the start of the pandemic, according to government figures published on Monday, raising fears of entrenched habits for a long time.
Canada: green light for Pfizer’s anti-COVID-19 pill
The Canadian Ministry of Health announced on Monday that it authorized the use of Pfizer’s anti-COVID-19 viral treatment, marketed under the name Paxlovid.
Hong Kong: two people linked to an outbreak arrested
Hong Kong police have arrested and charged two crew members of a Cathay Pacific airline flight with violating anti-coronavirus regulations after an investigation linked their breach of quarantine to the appearance of the Omicron variant in the territory.
4and “less” effective dose of vaccine against Omicron (Israeli hospital)
The administration of a fourth dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines makes it possible to multiply the antibodies but proves to be “less” effective in the fight against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, an Israeli hospital which has started one of the first clinical trials on the coronavirus said on Monday. topic.
Euro-2022: 6 positive German players
Six German handball players tested positive in the space of 48 hours between Sunday and Monday, during Euro-2022 played in Hungary and Slovakia, the German Handball Federation announced in a press release on Monday evening.
The pandemic has benefited billionaires
The fortunes of the ten richest men in the world have doubled since the start of the pandemic while the incomes of 99% of humanity have melted, according to a report by the NGO Oxfam published on Monday at the edge of the Forum. from Davos.
The cumulative wealth of all billionaires experienced “its largest increase ever recorded”, by 5 trillion dollars, to reach its highest level at 13,800 billion.
More than 5.53 million dead
The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed at least 5,537,051 lives worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a report compiled by AFP from official sources Monday at 11 a.m. GMT.
In absolute terms, the countries with the most deaths are the United States (851,451 deaths), Brazil (621,166), India (486,451) and Russia (321,990 deaths).
The 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 than that officially recorded.