All developments in the COVID-19 pandemic

Whether in Quebec or elsewhere on the planet, the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting our lives.

Here you will find all the news throughout the day related to this crisis affecting the population, governments and the economy.

LAST REVIEW

Case: 39 875 964
Death: 1,112,424

Case: 198 148, 93 391 in Quebec
Death: 9760, 6038 in Quebec

Case: 8 147 587
Death: 219,666

ALL THE NEWS FOR SUNDAY OCTOBER 18, 2020

7:58 pm | COVID-19: school help despite the absence of sport

The organization, “Le Diplôme avant la Médaille”, which helps young people in the Capitale-Nationale region, had to review its methods because of COVID-19.

6:59 pm | The Great Walk of the Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie: more than a hundred thousand walkers

148,369 people answered Pierre Lavoie’s call and took part in La Grande marche 2020, this weekend, in 1046 municipalities in Quebec.

4:49 p.m. | COVID-19: Quebec and Ontario on a plateau

Despite a mess that added hundreds of cases to the data at the beginning of the week and several days with results in the four figures, Quebec seems to have reached the top of the second wave and is even witnessing a slight decrease in the number of cases of COVID-19.

4:32 pm | New turn of the screw in Italy in the face of the resurgence of COVID

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Sunday evening a new round of measures to stem the surge in COVID-19, including restrictions on restaurant bars and the extension of teleworking.

These measures “should enable us to face the new wave of contagion which is severely affecting Italy and Europe. We cannot waste time. We must implement measures to avoid a new generalized confinement which could seriously jeopardize the economy, ”explained Mr. Conte during a press briefing at Palazzo Chigi, the seat of government.

The general philosophy is to limit as much as possible gatherings and induced promiscuity, conducive to the transmission of the virus, whether in public space or in private places.

While restaurants, which must display their maximum capacity outside, must close their doors no later than midnight and accommodate a maximum of six people per table, bars must close at 6 p.m. if they are not able to offer table service to seated customers.

The administration will have to make the civil servants work at 75% by telework, a rule which will be strongly recommended to the companies of the private sector. Face-to-face working meetings should also be avoided in favor of videoconferences.

Teleworking should make it possible to reduce the pressure on public transport, which in order to respect physical distancing must limit the number of passengers, especially at rush hour.

Still in the same vein, the government has decided that arrivals in schools, where distance education will be promoted, could be phased to avoid any crowd.

Local festivals and fairs (chestnut festival, mushroom festival, etc.), very widespread in Italy, will also be banned, affecting a sector which, according to the Coldiretti agricultural union, represents 34,000 jobs and a turnover of 900 million euros. annual business.

Amateur team sports (football, basketball, etc.) will also be prohibited.

At the local level, the mayors will be able to decide “the closure to the public, from 9:00 p.m., of streets or places where crowds can be created”, also announced Mr. Conte.

Italy, which until the end of September had been a virtuous exception in Europe, is now facing a worrying increase in the number of contagions: it has thus for the first time passed the threshold of 10,000 new daily cases on Friday, and is remained above this symbolic course on Saturday (10,935) and Sunday (11,705). About 150,000 tests are carried out every day in the country.

The four most affected regions are Lombardy (region of Milan, north), Campania (region of Naples, south), Lazio (region of Rome, center) and Piedmont (region of Turin, north-west).

“I want to hope that we will not arrive at a national containment, we are working in this direction”, estimated Sunday Professor Franco Locatelli, president of the Superior Council of Health, a public body responsible for advising the government on the measures to be taken in the face of the pandemic.

“I presume we will have a vaccine in the spring of 2021, by then we must live in a way that minimizes the impact of the coronavirus on the lives of Italians,” he added.

To prevent the outbreak of cases, the government had already decided on October 7 to make it compulsory to wear a mask outside throughout the country and to extend the state of emergency until January 31.

Those who do not wear masks outside their home face a fine of up to 1,000 euros.

The first European country to be hit hard by the pandemic, Italy has recorded a total of more than 414,000 cases, including 36,543 deaths.

4:28 pm | They get married at the Canada-U.S. Border so they can reunite their families

A Canadian couple made the choice to get married at the Canada-US border so that family and friends from both countries could be present at the ceremony.

4:11 pm | South Africa: Minister of Health positive for COVID-19

South African Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize announced Sunday evening that he had tested positive for COVID-19, two days after the country passed the milestone of 700,000 identified cases.

He is the fifth member of the government to have contracted the new coronavirus, after his colleagues in Commerce, Labor, Mining Resources and Defense.

“I want to inform the public that this afternoon my wife and I tested positive for COVID-19,” the minister wrote, claiming to have been tested the day before after unusual fatigue and loss of appetite.

The minister, who placed himself in quarantine at home, said he had been in contact this past week “with some members of our family and my team from the Ministry of Health”, who were informed of the news.

“They were advised to isolate themselves immediately at home and to be tested,” said the minister, who was on the front line during the coronavirus epidemic which peaked in July-August in the country.

South Africa accounts for 43% of COVID-19 cases on the African continent. However, the 2% increase in cases in South Africa remains lower than that of 7% for the continent as a whole in the past month, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

The country has recorded 18,370 deaths linked to the disease.

The strict containment measures and travel restrictions put in place have been relaxed, but Zweli Mkhize once again asked South Africans on Sunday to remain vigilant, because the “risk exists” of seeing “a second wave” appear.

3:30 p.m. | Thousands of demonstrators in Prague

Czech police used tear gas and water cannons on Sunday in the face of a violent protest in Prague against the government’s measures to counter the COVID-19 pandemic.

3:13 pm | Saint-Hyacinthe: two outbreaks in retirement homes

The second wave of COVID-19 hits hard two retirement homes in Saint-Hyacinthe, Montérégie, where there are several cases.

11:56 am | COVID-19: Quebec region returns to over 200 cases

Two and a half weeks after the start of the maximum alert, the curve of coronavirus infections is not following the trend hoped for in the Quebec region, which rose above the bar of 200 new daily cases on Sunday.

11:45 am | More than 250,000 dead in Europe

Europe, grappling with a powerful second wave, surpassed 250,000 deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday, as Israel and the Australian city of Melbourne began gradual deconfinement after several weeks of drastic restrictions.

11am | 1094 new cases and six deaths reported in Quebec

Of the six reported deaths, none occurred in the past 24 hours, but three occurred between October 11 and October 16, one occurred before October 11, and two occurred on an unknown date.

8:17 am | Faced with a rebound in the epidemic, Switzerland imposes the wearing of masks in confined spaces

Wearing a mask will be mandatory from Monday in closed public places throughout Switzerland, the federal government announced on Sunday, among other measures to try to stem the “exponential” growth of COVID-19 cases.

5:42 am | Coronavirus survives 9 hours on skin, 5 times longer than flu

In comparison, the pathogen that causes influenza survives on the skin for about 1.8 hours, says the study published this month in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

5:19 am | Italy mobilizes an additional 39 billion euros

Among the main measures adopted include 1.4 billion euros for the extension of the contracts of 30,000 doctors and nurses, 400 million for the purchase of vaccines, and 1.2 billion to hire 25,000 teachers.

4h53 | Curfew in France: a deserted Saturday night in Paris

4:22 | Beginning of progressive deconfinement in Israel

Nurseries, kindergartens, national parks and beaches have reopened, businesses that do not welcome the public have been able to return to work and Israelis are now allowed to travel more than a kilometer from their homes.

Gatherings are however limited to less than 10 people indoors and 20 outdoors.

1h15 | Relaxation of measures in Melbourne after drop in cases

Authorities on Sunday lifted the measure that limited the time people could spend away from their homes to two hours to engage in authorized activities.

They have also extended the distance they can travel to 25 kilometers to exercise, buy basic necessities and work in professions deemed essential to society.

1h | In the country where the mask is optional

No compulsory masks, no closures of schools, restaurants and bars: a Quebecer has decided to go and live in Sweden for three months, where life seems to have not stopped.

1h | Dog breeders denounce profiteers

Dog breeders accuse some profiteers of exaggeratingly raising their prices due to the surge in demand for pets since the start of the pandemic.

0h45 | Faced with an entire season without spectators, the entertainment world struggles in the United States

Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera or the New York Philharmonic in the dark until June 2021, the American entertainment world is resigned to the idea of ​​an entire season without spectators, racking their brains to show their talents to the public and stay afloat financially.

0h00 | Golf has seen a surge in popularity due to distancing measures

“The clientele of 7 to 15 year olds has exploded, but it is the 18-35 year olds who have been the big surprise. They have invaded the courses, ”notes the president of the Association des clubs de golf du Québec (ACGQ), Martin Ducharme.