The mutated strain of Corona invades 50 countries ... Concerns escalate in Europe, vaccination campaigns are accelerating, and China fears a new wave.

Today, Wednesday, several European countries announced the tightening and extension of general isolation measures to combat the emerging corona virus "Covid-19", with the escalation of concerns about the new fast-spreading chain that is now spreading in 50 countries. And while China announced the highest daily jump in the number of infections. , Mass vaccination campaigns were launched in a number of countries.

In light of the worsening concerns about the new mutated strain of the virus that was first detected in Britain, and not expecting significant vaccine assistance for another two or 3 months, Italy announced that it would extend the state of emergency until the end of next April.

For his part, German Minister of Health, Jens Young, said that his country will likely have to extend the period of anti-virus restrictions to next February, stressing the need to reduce mixing to a greater extent to combat the highly contagious strain.

In the Netherlands, the government said, late on Tuesday evening, that it would extend the general isolation measures, which include the closure of schools and shops, for at least 3 weeks, until the ninth of next month.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron met with senior ministers to discuss possible new measures, while local media reported that it is possible to increase curfew hours to six in the evening instead of eight, which has already happened in some regions of the country.

Obsessions of the mutated strain worsen across the world (Reuters)

In the meantime, the World Health Organization warned that "another worrisome type" of the virus was detected in Japan that may affect the immune response, and needs further investigation, noting that the higher the spread of the virus, the greater the chances of it mutating and the emergence of more strains.

The organization said that since it was first reported on December 14 of the new strain, the mutated virus - identified by Britain - has been detected in 50 countries, territories and regions, and the strain that was detected in South Africa and reported for the first time on the 18th of last month is present. In 20 countries, territories and regions.

Vaccination campaigns

In Russia, Putin ordered today to start a comprehensive vaccination campaign for all groups of people starting next week, stressing that the vaccine made in his country, "Sputnik-V", is "the best."

Last month, Russia began a vaccination campaign for the priority groups, especially the medical and educational staff and the elderly, and then the categories allowed to receive the vaccine were gradually expanded.

According to the Russian sovereign fund that financed this product, more than a million people in Russia have received the vaccine so far.

For its part, the British authorities intend to conduct vaccinations around the clock "as soon as possible", in order to accelerate the current campaign.

Britain, which is facing an outbreak of the mutated Corona virus, which is the most contagious, plans to vaccinate people over the age of 70 and health care providers, or about 15 million people, by the middle of next month.

Britain began its campaign on the 8th of last month, with the vaccines "Pfizer-Biontech" and "AstraZeneca-Oxford", and has included more than 2.4 million people so far.

At a vaccination center in Jordan today (Getty Images)

In Jordan, the health authorities began today a vaccination campaign targeting health workers, those suffering from chronic diseases and those over the age of 60, in its first phase.

Vaccination operations began in a number of hospitals and health centers, after the first quantities of the Chinese-Emirati "Sinopharma" vaccine and the "Pfizer-Biontech" vaccine arrived in Jordan early this week.

The Ministry of Health has identified 29 vaccination centers spread throughout the Kingdom's governorates, 7 of which are in Amman.

General isolation

And in China, the highest daily jump in cases was recorded for more than 5 months, which prompted it to impose a general lockdown on 4 cities to prevent a new wave of infection.

Official data showed that most of the new cases were recorded near the capital, Beijing, but a far northeastern province also witnessed a rise in cases, which led to the imposition of home quarantine on more than 28 million people.

Today, Wednesday, the National Health Committee announced the registration of 115 new confirmed cases of the virus on the mainland, up from 55 the previous day, in the highest daily increase since July 30.

In Japan, the authorities extended the state of emergency in effect in the Greater Tokyo region, to include 7 additional regions, and tightened restrictions at the border in an attempt to curb the rapid spread of the virus.

In Tunisia, the Ministry of Health announced that the country will witness, starting tomorrow, Thursday, a comprehensive quarantine for a period of 4 days to contain the outbreak of the virus, which has reached record levels, considering that the epidemiological situation in the country is "very dangerous and accurate."

The measure, which includes extending the curfew hours, will come into effect on Thursday, which marks the tenth anniversary of the revolution, thus preventing the memorial of the escape of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14, 2011.

In Lebanon, the World Bank agreed yesterday to provide emergency aid to Lebanon amounting to $ 246 million in the form of financial transfers and social services for 786,000 Lebanese living in poverty and suffering under the weight of two stifling economic and health crises in the country.

According to the latest statistics today, the virus has killed one million 963,557 people in the world since the WHO office in China reported the outbreak of the disease at the end of December 2019.

More than 91 million and 574 thousand and 350 people have been infected with the virus in the world since the outbreak of the epidemic, of whom 56 million and 306 thousand and 300 infected people have recovered, at least.

The figures are based on daily reports issued by the health authorities in each country, and exclude post-reviews of statistical agencies as in Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom.