[EN DIRECT 25 MARS] All the developments of the pandemic

Whether in Quebec or elsewhere on the planet, the COVID-19 pandemic has been disrupting our lives for nearly a year.

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

The balance sheets

PLANETARY

Case: 124 908 585

Dead: 2,745,964

CANADA

Case: 949,695, whose 305,435 in Quebec

Death: 22,780, whose 10 630 in Quebec

HERE ARE ALL THE NEWS FOR THURSDAY, MARCH 25

11:43 am | Worried to note that the COVID-19 contamination figures have been increasing for a few days in the Capitale-Nationale, the mayor of Quebec has launched an urgent appeal for the population to exercise caution.

11:31 am | The upward trend in new cases of COVID-19 continues in the Capitale-Nationale, while the most recent data in the last 24 hours show 80 new cases compared to 69 the day before.

11:32 am | The Canadiens general manager, Marc Bergevin, has confirmed that one of the two players placed on the COVID-19 list has been tested positive twice. The case in question is a variant of the virus.

11:08 am | Sweden, which had suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine after reports of possible side effects, including suspected cases of poor blood clotting, announced Thursday its resumption for people 65 and over.

11:02 am | The number of new cases is on the rise in Quebec, with 945 infections, as the province reports four additional deaths.

10:27 am | Hungary ranks first in the world in death rate.

Hungary, swept by the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, has posted the highest death rate in the world over the past week, according to AFP’s comparative database, while hospitals are on the verge of breaking up.

The death toll jumped more than 40% (compared to the previous seven days), reaching a new daily high of 272 on Thursday.

The deterioration of the situation raised this country of 9.8 million inhabitants to the first rank in the world over the period, with 15.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, ahead of the Czech Republic, Bosnia, Slovakia and Bulgaria.

Contaminations have exploded since the appearance of the British variant in February: just under 10,000 new cases have been identified over the last 24 hours.

Hospitals are being overwhelmed by the influx of patients (nearly 12,000 currently being treated), while staff are lacking, the Hungarian Medical Council (MOK) warned this week.

“The operating rooms have closed, their ventilators are being used by patients with COVID-19 fighting for their lives,” he wrote in a statement, an official comparing the situation to that of Bergamo, an Italian city martyrdom of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020.

Medical students have been called in to help, and some institutions have requested the help of volunteers.

Authorities, who do not allow media access to COVID-19 units, tried to reassure on Thursday.

“The situation is serious, but the system has sufficient capacity to cope with these high numbers,” Gergely Gulyas, head of Viktor Orban’s office, told reporters.

10:19 am | Ontario is reporting 2,380 new COVID cases, including 1,016 in Toronto.

10:17 am | Those who have already been infected with COVID-19 will only need to receive a single dose of the vaccine, the health ministry ruled on Thursday.

10:01 am | Iraq receives 336,000 doses of Covax vaccine.

Iraq, the Arab country most affected by COVID-19, on Thursday received 336,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in South Korea and financed by the Covax device intended for disadvantaged countries, authorities said.

A country of 40 million people ravaged by wars for four decades, Iraq has so far received only 50,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, offered by Beijing in exchange for a promise to purchase two million doses additional.

In the absence of a budget adopted immediately for 2021, Iraq must for the moment be satisfied with free shipments of vaccines.

Thus, ensures the UN mission in Iraq, “1.1 million Covax vaccines will arrive in Iraq over several weeks and 20% of the population will be vaccinated by the end of 2021”.

The Iraqi health ministry has already announced that the vaccines received on Thursday are starting to be administered to caregivers, while calling on all Iraqis to register online for appointments.

The number of contaminations reached a new record on Thursday: 6,513 cases in 24 hours, including 33 deaths.

Officially, the number of Iraqis infected since the appearance of the coronavirus in the country in February 2020 is now 815,605, including 14,128 dead.

These statistics are announced daily by the Ministry of Health, which indicates that it conducts around 40,000 tests every day, a very low rate in a country with several cities of more than two million inhabitants where the density is high and overcrowded. permed.

8:21 am | Ukraine: daily death record for the third day in a row.

Ukraine on Thursday for the third day in a row recorded a record daily coronavirus-related deaths with 362 dead, the country facing a spike in infections as vaccination lags behind.

According to health authorities, Ukraine on Thursday recorded 16,669 new cases of infections and 362 deaths, breaking the records of 333 and 342 deaths recorded Tuesday and Wednesday.

Earlier this week, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov warned that Ukraine was entering “a very difficult period” as the dilapidated health system in this former Soviet republic, one of the poorest countries in Europe, struggling to manage the pandemic.

Since the start of the pandemic, the country has so far recorded more than 1.5 million infections and more than 31,000 deaths.

The vaccination of its 40 million inhabitants did not begin until February 24, due to logistical hiccups but also a widespread anti-vaccine sentiment.

Ukraine has received only 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, produced in India and marketed under the name Covishield. Authorities have brushed aside fears about this vaccine, the only one available.

During the first month of the vaccination campaign, more than 150,000 people received a first dose, according to the Ministry of Health.

7:53 am | Poland is tightening restrictions following the contamination records.

The Polish government on Thursday announced new restrictions intended to stem the rise in record-breaking COVID-19 contamination, endangering the capacities of the health system.

“Poland is going through the most difficult moment of the pandemic,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters. “We are approaching the capacity limits of the health system, we are about to cross the border beyond which we will not be able to treat patients properly,” he added.

Poland recorded the contamination record on Thursday with 34,151 new cases and 520 deaths. A total of 2,154,821 cases have been recorded since the start of the pandemic, including 50,860 deaths.

As part of new measures, the government has decided to close nurseries, kindergartens, as well as large furniture and DIY stores, as well as beauty and hairdressing salons.

In churches, one person per 20 square meters of surface area will now be allowed, compared to 15 square meters previously.

People crossing the southern border of the country will be subject to quarantine or will have to test negative.

The new measures that will come into effect on Saturday for a period of two weeks reinforce those already in force since the beginning of the month and which provide for the closure of all schools, shopping centers, theaters and performance halls.

7:28 am | Denmark is extending the suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine for three weeks.

Denmark is extending for three weeks the suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine in its immunization program against COVID-19, yet declared “safe and effective” by the European regulator and the WHO, health authorities announced Thursday.

“We have today decided to extend our suspension to three weeks,” National Health Agency director Søren Brostrøm told a press conference, explaining that we needed “more time” to exclude entirely a link between the few known cases of rare but serious blood clots and vaccination with AstraZeneca vaccine.

6:51 am | Health officials have issued new guidance to healthcare professionals regarding symptoms to watch out for after receiving AstraZeneca vaccine and its Covishield version.

6:43 am | With more than 2,680 deaths in six months, the opioid overdose crisis worsened in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which in particular complicated access to social and health support services.

5:23 am | Saarland announced Thursday to end the main anti-COVID restrictions just after Easter Monday on presentation of negative tests, becoming the first German regional state to take this step.

2h25 | Papua New Guinea on Thursday closed the borders used by the indigenous population to travel to or return from Australia in order to limit the risk of the epidemic spreading among the most isolated populations.

TO READ | AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is 76% effective against symptomatic cases, the Swedish-British laboratory announced Thursday, after an update of its data from a clinical trial in the United States, Peru , and Chile.

1h00 | Naked in the cinema … except for the mask: About 70 people went to the Cinema L’Amour to “watch” one of the erotic films presented.

0h00 | The pandemic will lead to several changes in the lifestyle of seniors, who risk being haunted for a long time to come by the fear of contracting COVID-19, despite the vaccination campaign which is in full swing in Quebec, according to a CROP survey.

0h00 | While Quebec is working on an overhaul of the funding dedicated to students in difficulty, parents are calling for the implementation of a new system that is more equitable and efficient. Almost half of them believe that the services offered by the school are not adequate, or sometimes even non-existent.

Our columnists speak out

I am comforted to finally be vaccinated —> Richard Martineau