France, UK remain in full grip of pandemic

PARIS－With the number of global COVID-19 cases approaching 100 million, stringent measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus continue to be adopted worldwide despite some temporary good news.

The number of people with coronavirus in French intensive care units fell by 16 to 2,896, according to figures issued on Saturday, the first decline in two weeks after a period of sharp rises. The number of people in intensive care is a key measure of a health system's ability to cope with the pandemic.

The government has said it wants the figure to hold steady between 2,500 and 3,000 before considering loosening curfew restrictions, but it had been increasingly steady recently.

New border controls went into force in France on Sunday as part of an effort to contain the spread of the virus. Arrivals to France from EU countries by air or sea must be able to produce a negative PCR test result obtained in the previous 72 hours.

The requirement had already applied to non-EU arrivals since mid-January. EU travelers entering France by land, including cross-border workers, will not need a negative test.

Laws extended

The British government has quietly extended coronavirus lockdown laws to give local councils in England the power to close pubs, restaurants, shops and public spaces until July 17, the Telegraph reported on Saturday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday that the government could not consider easing lockdown restrictions with infection rates at their current high levels, and until it is confident the vaccination program is working.

Changes to the regulation governing coronavirus restrictions were made as part of a review of the third lockdown earlier this month by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, the Telegraph said.

Britain has recorded more than 3.5 million COVID-19 infections, the fifth-highest in the world, and nearly 96,000 deaths.

By Sunday there were more than 98.7 million confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide, with more than 2.12 million deaths, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Africa had more than 3.4 million by Sunday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, or Africa CDC, said. The death toll related to the pandemic in the continent stood at more than 84,600, the agency said.

Southern Africa is the hardest-hit in Africa in the number of confirmed cases, followed by the Northern Africa region, according to the agency. The most affected African countries include South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Ethiopia.

The Tunisian health ministry announced on Saturday that a nationwide curfew that forbids people from going out from 8 pm to 5 am will be extended to Feb 14.

The Africa CDC on Saturday urged African countries to continue enhancing their surveillance measures amid the rapid rise of COVID-19 across the continent.

Agencies - Xinhua