The German health authorities are worried about the increase in new infections, while Spain has announced the compulsory wearing of masks and the limitation of gatherings to ten people.

The United Kingdom has gone even further by reinstating a two-week quarantine for all travellers returning from Spain. A decision described by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as "wrong" and "disproportionate".

But for the British local government minister, Simon Clarke, the decision is entirely justified.

"We have seen a 75% increase in cases on Thursday and Friday compared to Tuesday and Wednesday last week. That is what motivated this decision. We live in a world where things can change suddenly and very seriously and this seems to be happening in some parts of Spain. We are making huge progress against the coronavirus here in the country. We don't want to re-import the risks from overseas at a crucial moment in our national recovery".

In France, the United States is now on the list of 16 countries for which testing will now be mandatory. Indeed, it has been decided that travellers from the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Bahrain and Panama must present a negative PCR test dated less than 72 hours before the flight before boarding the plane bound for France. For twelve other countries, which do not have sufficient testing capacity at local level, a PCR test will be obligatorily carried out on the arrival of passengers in France. These are South Africa, Kuwait, Qatar, Israel, Brazil, Peru, Serbia, Algeria, Turkey, Madagascar, India and Oman. Passengers arriving from these destinations will be required to leave their contact details and go into voluntary isolation while awaiting test results. If the test is positive, they will be contacted by the health insurance company to quarantine themselves.

With the presence of tourists and festive gatherings observed in certain districts of Marseille, the wearing of masks outdoors will become compulsory from this week in heavily frequented areas, announced the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture. "There is an increase in the number of cases among 20-40 year olds, who take part in festive gatherings and are often asymptomatic, with a risk of contamination for those around them," Marie Aubert, the Prefect Delegate for Equal Opportunities, told a press conference.

In the hypercentre of the second largest city in France, in the Old Port and in the streets around it, masks are compulsory between 10 am and 4 am. On the Prado beach promenade and the Borély sector, to the south of the city, as well as on the Cours Julien and around the Place de la Plaine, two emblematic places of Marseille's nightlife, it will be imposed between 7 pm and 4 am.

India surpasses the 2 million cases mark Indeed, the country has recorded more than 62,000 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing to 2,025,409 the number of officially confirmed infections. India now accounts for 10% of the world's infections.

While nearly two-thirds of these are considered cured, the virus has caused 41,585 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

In Africa, there are an estimated 1 million cases. To date, the African continent accounts for 5% of the world's VIDOC cases.

Laurence HIRR