Corona ... 89 million infections globally, and the mutated strain was monitored in 8 US states

The total number of confirmed cases of the new Corona virus today, Saturday, around the world, has reached 89 million and 1553 cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News Agency, and the death toll from the virus has reached one million 916 thousand and 92 cases.

Today, the United Kingdom counted about 60,000 new infections, which raises the number of confirmed infections since the start of the epidemic to more than 3 million, against the background of the spread of a faster-transmitting mutating virus.

New breed

Official data showed that the new, mutated strain of the emerging fastest transmission of Corona virus has now spread to 8 US states.

Friday's data from the US Centers for Disease Control showed that the strain, which was first reported in the United States last week, was detected in 8 states, and California and Florida were the most affected, and this strain was also detected in Colorado, Texas, New York, Georgia, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, with a total of 63 cases.

In Australia, health officials said today that they are on high alert after detecting cases of highly contagious mutated strains of the Coronavirus that were discovered for the first time in Britain and South Africa.

The city of Brisbane - the capital of Queensland state - imposed strict lockdown restrictions that last for 3 days, after the discovery of a highly contagious strain of the virus that causes "Covid-19" that was discovered in Britain.

Sydney - the largest city in Australia - also detected in one of its quarantine hotels, infection with the mutated virus that was discovered in South Africa.

Macron's wife

On the other hand, "Europe 1" and "France Info" radio stations said today that the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron had contracted Covid-19 in late December, but had resumed her normal activities, after she came out with a negative second test result.

Europe 1 Radio said that the tests confirmed the infection of Brigitte Macron on December 24, and added that the president's wife did not have severe symptoms and had two tests performed on the 30 and 31 of last month, and they were negative.

On December 17, President Macron himself tested positive for Covid-19, and he remained in self-isolation until, on the 24th of last month, he underwent an examination that showed that he was no longer suffering from symptoms of the disease.

Vaccination demand is increasing daily (Getty Images)

New vaccine

With regard to vaccinations, Buckingham Palace announced that Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, received today, Saturday, the first dose of the emerging coronavirus vaccine.

A spokesman said that the Queen, 94, and her 99-year-old husband, “today received their vaccine against Covid-19, joining about one and a half million people who received the first dose of the vaccine in the United Kingdom.

In a related context, Pope Francis announced today in an interview with the Italian television channel "Canal 5" that he will receive the vaccine against the Corona virus next week, considering that refusing to receive the vaccine reflects a "suicide denial."

"Next week, we will start that here (at the Vatican) and I have set a date, it must be done," the Pope said in the interview, which will be broadcast on Sunday evening and distributed to the media.

In Italy, more than half a million people have received the COVID-19 vaccination at 290 sites, most of them for medical workers.

The Campania region, in the south of the country - where Naples is located - used 75% of the available doses, and about 60% of those who received the vaccine were women.

Cuba and Iran

As for Cuba, it said that it had signed an agreement with Iran to transfer technology related to its most advanced potential anti-Coronavirus vaccines and to conduct the last phase of clinical trials of the vaccine in humans in the Islamic Republic.

The two allies are subject to strict US sanctions that exclude medicines, but they often prevent foreign pharmaceutical companies from trading with them, and the two countries therefore seek self-reliance in light of the common suffering from a lack of liquidity.

Earlier, Iran had begun clinical trials on humans for the first local vaccine against Covid-19 late last month, while Cuba currently has 4 potential vaccines in the testing phase, but none of them has yet begun.

Jordan and Lebanon

In Jordan, it was announced that the Chinese vaccine, SinoPharm, against the emerging corona virus, had been granted an "emergency license" to become the second vaccine to be approved after "Pfizer-BioNTech", according to what the director general of the official Jordanian Food and Drug Corporation confirmed.

He added that "the institution approved the vaccine after completing the required documents for emergency use," noting that "it is the second vaccination to be approved by the foundation to combat the Corona virus."

The Jordanian Minister of Health, Nazir Obeidat, announced the start of the national program of vaccination against Corona next Wednesday morning, with the arrival of the first quantities of the Chinese vaccine today, Saturday, and the “Pfizer-Biontech” vaccine on Monday, according to Jordan News Agency (Petra).

The Lebanese authorities imposed a partial lockdown in the country that will last until early next month, to limit the spread of Corona.

The decision, from which some sectors are excluded, comes in the wake of the number of injuries reaching unprecedented limits and exceeding the threshold of 4 thousand cases per day.

This increase is reflected in the medical sector, as government and private hospitals are unable to receive new patients, due to their reaching their maximum capacity.