Exactly one year after China closed the seemingly coronavirus-free city of Wuhan, the pandemic is advancing around the world and provoking protests in Brazil.
With unbridled traffic, ongoing public transport and parks, the Chinese city of 11 million people where the virus appeared shows signs of very good health.
But in other parts of the world the pandemic is raging.
Europe is facing an increasingly serious situation, with production problems affecting the supply of AstraZeneca-Oxford and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.
In Brazil, one of the countries most affected by the pandemic, thousands of people protested on Saturday against President Jair Bolsonaro in the capital, Brasilia, and in cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, demanding the departure of the president and “everyone”.
Brazilian scientists have warned that the country could run out of doses of vaccines and basic equipment, such as syringes, right at the start of its vaccination campaign, and many are blaming the government.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said a new strain that appeared in Britain could be more deadly and contagious than the one that appeared in Wuhan a year ago.
“In addition to the faster spread, there now seems to be some evidence that the new variant could be associated with a higher mortality rate,” he told a news conference.
The UK reported record deaths of COVID-19 (95,981 as of Friday), the highest in Europe, following an increase in cases and hospitalizations since the variant was first identified in September.
In the United States, Biden said the virus was growing. “We are at 400,000 dead, but it is expected to exceed 600,000,” he warned.
Covid-19 has already killed more than 2.1 million people worldwide and infected more than 10 million, while causing enormous damage to the economy. In Latin America, for example, exports fell to the level of the 2008 global financial crisis.
– ‘Deep dissatisfaction’ –
AstraZeneca told AFP that “lower performance” at one of its vaccine factories is affecting deliveries in Europe.
Although the health ministers of Germany and France tried to reassure the public about a steady supply, other countries were less willing to admit the arrears.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called the delays “unacceptable” and said his government was considering taking legal action against AstraZeneca.
Delivery doses by Pfizer to mainland countries are already delayed. The American company is trying to increase the capacity of one of its plants, located in Belgium.
In a meeting with AstraZeneca representatives, the EU Commission “insisted on a precise delivery schedule based on Member States that should plan their vaccination programs,” Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides posted on Twitter.
The EU authorities are expected to give the green light to this vaccine, already authorized in the UK, at the end of January.
A study in Canada showed that an anti-inflammatory drug called colchicine is effective in treating COVID-19 and reduces the risk of complications.
It is a drug used to treat gout and could become “the world’s first oral drug that could be used to treat patients who are not hospitalized with covid-19,” said the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI).
– Strengthening measures –
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has ensured that masks remain effective in preventing the spread of new variants of the virus that have emerged from the UK, South Africa and Brazil.
However, the Norwegian capital, Oslo, has ordered the closure of non-essential stores and restricted mobility after the British version was found in a nursing home.
The Netherlands introduced its first provision after World War II, which takes place between 21:00 and 04:30.
And a source in the French government told AFP that a new blockade seems more and more likely due to the spread of the British version.
In Colombia, the inhabitants of the capital, Bogota, were celebrating their third consecutive weekend of quarantine, with all businesses closing from Friday at 20:00 until Monday at 04:00.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian state of Amazonas has announced that it will only allow the movement of people and trade in essential activities.
In Mexico, where hospitals are overwhelmed and more than 146,000 people have died, people are queuing for hours to buy oxygen for the growing number of people battling coronavirus at home.
In Uruguay, a country that has seen a sharp rise in the number of cases since November, the government has announced an agreement with the American company Pfizer and the Chinese company Sinovac to start vaccinating their population from the end of February to March.
– Doubtful origin –
In Wuhan, a team of WHO experts remains in quarantine in a hotel before embarking on a mission to investigate the origin of the virus.
“All assumptions are on the table,” WHO Emergency Director Michael Ryan told a news conference in Geneva.
“It is too early to reach a conclusion on exactly where this virus started, whether it is inside or outside China.”
But there was good news for poorer countries on Friday, as the WHO and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced an agreement to make up to 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine available to them through the global Covax mechanism.
A separate agreement, negotiated by international agencies working with WHO, will provide developing countries with tens of millions of rapid antigen tests at half the usual $ 5 price.