Emmanuel Macron

New 'surge hubs' to be set up in UK amid Omicron wave
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Temporary structures capable of housing around 100 patients will be erected on the grounds of eight hospitals across the country, with work starting as early as this week, NHS England has said. NHS trusts have also been asked to identify areas such as gyms and education centres that can be converted to accommodate patients and more sites could be added to create up to 4,000 "super surge" beds across the country, Xinhua news agency reported.
US CDC warns against cruise travel as Omicron drives up Covid-19 cases
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"The Covid-19 Travel Health Notice level has been updated from Level 3 to Level 4, the highest level. This reflects increase in cases onboard cruise ships since identification of the Omicron variant," said the CDC. Even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid-19 variants, the agency added. "The virus that causes Covid-19 spreads easily between people in close quarters on board ships, and the chance of getting Covid-19 on cruise ships is very high, even if you are fully vaccinated and have received a Covid-19 vaccine booster dose," said the CDC.
US San Francisco, more Bay Area counties require masks indoors due to Omicron surge
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San Francisco, Marin and Alameda counties on Wednesday rescinded the exemptions that they preserved just two weeks ago, following California's reinstatement of a universal mask mandate. The counties' new orders take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday. San Francisco on Tuesday also announced the cancellation of the city's annual New Year's eve fireworks show, Xinhua news agency reported. Contra Costa County had made a similar move to revoke exemptions on Tuesday.
WHO warns of "tsunami of cases" from Omicron, Delta
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Recapping WHO's response since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said at a press briefing that he's "highly concerned that Omicron being more transmissible, circulating at the same time as Delta -- is leading to a tsunami of cases." Tedros reiterated his concern over a recent narrative that Omicron has been causing milder or less severe diseases, Xinhua news agency reported.
Omicron pushes world's daily Covid cases to new record
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The seven-day average of Covid cases was nearly 841,000 on Monday, a 49 per cent rise from November 24 when Omicron was first identified in Africa. More than 11,500 international flights have been cancelled across the globe amid reports of record surge in the new cases of the variant. The UK is currently reporting more than 100,000 new infections a day.
Macron announces to postpone easing anti-Covid measures
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"We are not done with the pandemic yet," he warned in his address to the nation on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported. Macron said that all barrier gestures that protect people both from Covid-19 and other contagious winter diseases should be given more attention. "We all relaxed a bit our efforts and it was normal. But we should step up again," he said. He added that the controls of health pass will be also strengthened in concerned establishments, including airports, ports and train stations.
Macron offers Merkel French national honour on her farewell trip  
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This visit by Merkel "comes to close years of fruitful work between the President and the Chancellor in order to strengthen Franco-German bilateral cooperation", Xinhua news agency quoted the French presidential office, the Elysee as saying. The farewell visit by Merkel to Beaune in central-eastern France "comes to close years of fruitful work between the President and the Chancellor in order to strengthen Franco-German bilateral cooperation", said the Elysee.
Modi holds bilateral meet with French President Macron
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Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit, the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the state of the wide-ranging India-France Strategic Partnership, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said in New Delhi. Prime Minister Modi also welcomed the European Union's Indo-Pacific Strategy, released in September 2021, and thanked the French President for France's leadership role in the same.
Biden, Macron agree to meet in Rome
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The agreement came during a phone conversation between the two leaders on Friday during which they also discussed efforts to support stability and security in the Sahel region in Africa, enhance cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and enable a more capable European defence, Xinhua news agency quoted the White House as saying in a statement. The statement added that Biden and Macron will meet in Rome later this month to continue their conversation on bilateral cooperation.
Macron meets Blinken for first talks after submarine row
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The "at length, face-to-face meeting" between Macron and Blinken, which lasted about 40 minutes according to French media, should "help restore confidence" between the two countries, the Elysee said in a statement, Xinhua News Agency reported. Earlier on Tuesday, Blinken also met with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian. They chose not to hold a joint press conference.
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