The US network, CNN, said that the WHO mission in Wuhan, China, found possible signs of a wider outbreak of the Coronavirus in 2019 than the authorities stated, and on the other hand, Elizabeth Astett, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru resigned yesterday due to the scandal of government officials receiving anti-vaccines. Virus infection long before it is publicly available.

Peter Embark, head of the UN mission's expert delegation, said - in an interview with the American network - that the mission found several signs of the virus spreading in 2019 on a larger scale, including the presence of more than 12 strains of the virus in Wuhan already in December 2019.

Members of the mission delegation also had the opportunity to speak to the first patient who Chinese officials said had contracted the virus, and he is an employee in his forties and does not have any travel record, and he was infected with Corona on December 8, 2019, i.e. before Beijing officially announced the registration of the epidemic in the middle of the same month.

CNN said in a report today that the Chinese authorities have prevented WHO experts from accessing the results of the tests of hundreds of thousands of blood samples taken in Wuhan (the cradle of the disease) with the onset of the pandemic, and the head of the organization’s mission added that the Chinese authorities did not allow the mission, Which included scientists from the Health Organization and other Chinese, to access only partial samples of the first infections with the emerging coronavirus.

Peru scandal

On the other hand, Peruvian Foreign Minister Elizabeth Astett resigned on Sunday, becoming the second high-ranking official to leave her post due to a scandal involving government officials receiving anti-COVID-19 vaccines long before they were made available to the public.

Peruvian Foreign Minister Astete resigned after a scandal erupted when officials received the Corona vaccine long before the start of the (French) vaccination campaign

The resigned minister said, in a tweet on her Twitter account, that she received the vaccine last month, as part of what she described as a "big mistake" at a time when she indicated that she would not receive the second dose.

Public anger that vaccination officials received before the launch of a wider vaccination campaign was set, prompted at least two government officials to resign, as Health Minister Pilar Mazzetti resigned last week after a local newspaper revealed that former President Vizcarra had received the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine against Corona in October. Second last.

And media outlets announced that Attorney General Zuraida Avalos had opened a "preliminary investigation" against the former president and others involved in the file of high officials receiving vaccines before their official launch.

The country was severely affected by the epidemic, as its health system was subjected to severe pressure, and the authorities did not launch a vaccination program for health workers until the eighth of this month.

Iraq situation

And in the Arab region, the Iraqi Minister of Health, Hassan Al-Tamimi, announced today the registration of the first infections in the country with the new strain of Corona virus.

He explained during a press conference held in Baghdad that the public health laboratories of the ministry had recorded the emergence of cases of the new mutated strain of the rapidly spreading Corona virus.

Al-Tamimi stressed that the new strain can infect children, but he did not specify the number of these infections or the places of their spread.

As of Sunday evening, the total number of HIV infections in the country had risen to 643,852, including 13,179 deaths, and 607,59 recoveries, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health.

The day before yesterday, the authorities issued a decision to impose a night curfew, starting on February 18, for a period of two weeks, and to close schools and public places, including mosques and beauty centers, to limit the spread of Corona.

Today, the authorities also decided to suspend all sporting activities indefinitely to limit the spread of the Corona virus.

The country had resumed its sporting activities on September 7, after half a year of stopping due to the spread of the virus.

In Europe, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is studying the next few days when his country can end the general lockdown due to "Covid-19" after vaccinating 15 million of the most vulnerable citizens, which is the largest and fastest vaccination campaign against the virus in the world to date.

With about a quarter of the UK population receiving their first dose of the "Covid-19" vaccine in about two months, Johnson is facing pressure from some parliamentarians and businessmen to reopen the stalled economy.

However, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the numbers of deaths and cases transferred to hospitals were still high.