The World Health Organization (WHO) indicated that there is a certain rebound in daily cases with respect to the December figures both in the American and European continents, although the rise is more pronounced in America than in Europe.
In the European region, the United Kingdom leads the calculation with 3.1 million cases, followed by France (2.7 million positives), Italy (2.2 million) and Spain (2.1 million), with a curve in worrying rise, approaching November’s daily highs again.
Spain faces a relapse into the pandemic
The third wave is on the horizon in Spain. 38,865 new cases of COVID-19 were registered in 24 hours, an unprecedented number in the country.
And hospitals begin to suffer this worrying increase, patients do not stop arriving at the intensive care units, which reports a 39% increase in income since Christmas Eve.
The Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, asked citizens to scrupulously respect the restrictions, claiming that it is the only way to control the virus.
Like other European countries, Spain started its vaccination campaign at the end of December. The central government has so far distributed more than one million doses to the 17 autonomous communities.
On the other hand, despite the difficulties in the communication channels due to the consequences of the snowfall this weekend, they are not causing “alterations” in the distribution of the covid vaccines, neither in the case of Pfizer, nor of the Modern Pharmaceutical, affirmed the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
Boris Johnson, against the ropes
The UK continues to fight the blows of the British variant of COVID. The country has registered more than 1,500 deaths a day, a record that for public health experts demonstrates the failure of government policies.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under extreme pressure. Now he is facing the circulation of the new variant of the virus found in Brazil.
“We are taking steps to stop the entry of the Brazilian variant into this country. We have also taken steps to prevent the South African variant from arriving, just as the French do to prevent the Kent variant from reaching France. And that’s what governments do, “Johnson said.
The new Brazilian variant
Last Tuesday, the state-run Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), the largest medical research center in Latin America, confirmed on Tuesday the identification and circulation of a new variant of the coronavirus originating in the Brazilian state of Amazonas.
It is the same that arrived in Japan after four Japanese travelers visited the region and, according to the deputy director of research at Fiocruz Amazonía, Felipe Naveca, the new variant presents a series of unpublished mutations.
“If these mutations confer any selective advantage for viral transmissibility, we should expect an increase in the frequency of these viral lineages in Brazil and in the world in the coming months,” says the document.
It also explains that the mutations detected are a “recent phenomenon, probably occurred between December 2020 and January 2021”, and “may be representatives of a virus potentially of an emerging lineage in Brazil.”
Italy restricts interregional circulation
Meanwhile, Italy has decided to extend its state of emergency until the end of April as infections are on the rise.
The incidence is more than 313 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, so mobility between regions will be prohibited, the Government announced.
The Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, warned that “this week there is a generalized worsening of the epidemiological situation in Italy, with increases in admissions to intensive care units and unknown outbreaks” and pointed out: “Make no mistake: the epidemic is again in expansion phase “.
Portugal closes due to the increase in cases
The Portuguese nation faces a new Covid-19 shutdown that will come into effect from Friday.
“The main rule is, stay at home. Each of us must apply this rule, to protect others and to protect ourselves, only then will we win our fight against the pandemic,” said Prime Minister Antonio Costa.
Portuguese health experts say it could be eight weeks before infection rates drop to pre-Christmas levels.
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