the 7e COVID wave continues to cause concern as Asia’s Las Vegas, Macau, decided to close its casinos and non-essential businesses as of Monday.
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The leaders of this autonomous region of China are therefore tightening the screws and will even throw in prison those who do not respect this return to health restrictions. Recall that China adopts an extremely strict COVID zero policy.
These new measures may seem excessive since in its last daily report, Macao recorded only 71 new cases of COVID-19 and transcontinental China only 358. Meanwhile, the most affected countries are flirting with 100,000 cases per day . However, the strategy aims to stamp out the virus through lockdowns, border controls and mass testing.
In this sense, a senior city official, Andre Cheong, announced at a press conference this Saturday that residents will have to stay at home for at least a week. Violators risk up to two years in prison.
Last month, the city had already closed most of its businesses, from bars to cinemas. Authorities also clarified that employers were not required to pay their workers during the COVID-related shutdown.
Disturbing rise
On the international scene, the rise in cases of this 7e wave is worrying to say the least, particularly in Europe and Asia, but also in the land of Uncle Sam.
In the United States, you have to go back to mid-February to see 167,000 new cases in a single day. Compared to the beginning of June, this is 30,000 more infections per day. In Europe, the figures are also worrying. France (137,947), Italy (101,883), Germany (95,919) and Spain (83,613) have seen a staggering rise in daily cases. For France, this represents 84,000 more infections compared to the beginning of June.
The French Minister of Health François Braun also arrived masked at the National Assembly this week, recalling that wearing a mask was strongly recommended in crowded places.
Cases are climbing in Quebec
In Quebec, the curve of the number of cases per day is progressing. Thursday, 1755 infections were reported while a month ago the province might reach around 700 daily cases. It is therefore 1000 more people infected per day. The ratio of positive cases among the tests carried out is also high at 14.5%.
This rate compares to the statistics of the last wave. The 1,534 people hospitalized and 339 active outbreaks forced the Dr Luc Boileau, National Director of Public Health, and Christian Dubé, Minister of Health, to hold a press briefing last Thursday on the 7e wave hitting.
Rising everywhere
INCREASE IN COVID CASES PER DAY
Source : ourworldindata.com