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Photo ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ / ΕΡΑ
France posted a negative record of new cases on Saturday. According to local authorities, 45,422 new confirmed cases were registered in the last 24 hours. On Friday, 42,032 new cases were registered.
According to the country’s Health Ministry, 138 people have died from complications of the Covid-19 disease in the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 34,645.
The total number of confirmed cases amounted to 1,086,497. In addition, the country’s Health Ministry said that 16% of all coronavirus tests were positive, a new record, and a number double that of a month ago.
Almost 2,500 patients with Covid-19 are treated in intensive care units and with mechanical support.
The National Assembly voted to extend the state of emergency
The French National Assembly, for its part, voted at first reading to extend the state of emergency in France until February 16, a special regime that allows the government to apply restrictions in the face of the Covid-19 crisis.
The bill, approved by 71 to 35 votes, is expected to receive its final green light in the Senate in early November on Wednesday.
Compared to last spring, the opposition raised its voice in parliament, expressing concern that “individual freedoms are in parentheses” with this “atomic bomb” of the state of emergency.
The state of emergency came into force by decree a week ago, but a bill is needed to extend it beyond a month. It can be removed prematurely in case of data improvement.
However, the outlook is bleak: the report “will deteriorate in the coming days and weeks, whatever we do,” due to the dynamics of the epidemic, Health Minister Olivier Veran said. He wants “national unity” to prevail.
“It is not a text of beliefs”, but “a text of responsibility that allows us to actively protect the French in this time that will be long and difficult,” he said.
Spain: Extraordinary Cabinet Meeting
In Spain, the government will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday morning to consider the possibility of declaring a state of emergency throughout the country.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez “called an emergency cabinet meeting at 10 am local time to review the conditions for a new state of emergency to come into effect,” the statement said, adding that the initiative was “accepted by the majority of the autonomous communities of Spain, which requested it ”.
The move will give the 17 regions the legal tools necessary to impose stricter restrictions, including traffic bans, to stop the spread of the virus.
The special cabinet meeting comes days after Spain surpassed one million new coronavirus cases.
Night traffic ban in Brussels
It is highlighted that stricter measures will be implemented starting Monday, October 26 in Brussels, in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The local authorities decided, among other things, traffic ban from 22.00 to 06.00.
It should be noted that The development of the pandemic in 23 EU countries is of particular concern., as recognized in a report by the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC).
Sources: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ, REUTERS, AFP
