Corona ... a third wave in Germany and the British are intensively booking vacations in anticipation of lifting the ban

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that her country is going through a third phase of the Corona epidemic, and while the British are massively accepting to book tickets to spend their vacations abroad after announcing a plan to lift restrictions, HIV infections around the world have exceeded 112 million.

Two sources quoted Merkel as saying during her meeting today, Tuesday, with representatives of her conservative party, the Christian Democratic Union, "We are now in the third wave."

The two sources added that they warned that any easing of the general isolation measures that were imposed late last year and extended until March 7, must be done cautiously and gradually.

In France, which announced today that more than 20,000 new HIV infections and 431 deaths have been recorded, Prime Minister Jean Castex's office said today that additional measures will be imposed to curb the epidemic in the Dunkirk region (northern France), according to what was quoted by the French Press Agency.

On Monday, an unprecedented closure was imposed over the next two weekends on a section of the Cote d'Azur tourist area, which includes the city of Nice, due to the increasing number of infections with the Coronavirus.

In the Netherlands, the government decided today to extend the curfew until March 15, and in Ireland the government announced that it would remain within the fifth level of isolation until April 5.

Also in Europe, the European Commission announced today that it has officially warned 6 countries of the European Union, namely Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary and Sweden, that the restrictions they imposed at the borders to contain the Corona virus undermine the freedom of movement within the bloc.

In Turkey, the Ministry of Health announced today that 75 deaths and more than 9,000 new cases of corona have been recorded.

Heavy reservations in Britain

In Britain, which is preparing to significantly ease the isolation measures in mid-May, the British are accepting heavily to book airline tickets to spend their vacations abroad.

Shares in the travel sector on the London Stock Exchange rose significantly today after Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who aspires to return to normal life over the summer, announced a four-stage plan to ease restrictions imposed to contain the rapid spread of the epidemic.

In the context, the low-cost British company, EasyJet, announced an increase in reservations by 337% on flights departing to the United Kingdom in the hours that followed the announcement of a plan to gradually open the economy after the decline in Coronavirus infections.

The plan presented by Johnson includes opening schools on March 8th, then lifting instructions to keep homes and allow small gatherings outside by the end of the same month. Non-essential stores such as beauty salons, bars and museums will open on April 12, and on May 17. The following will open cinemas, hotels, stadiums and restaurants. On June 21, the restrictions on socializing may be lifted.

The British Prime Minister called for people to live with the virus in the long term, similar to influenza.

Figures from Arab countries

In the Arab world, Jordan today recorded 19 new deaths and about 4,600 new cases of the virus.

In the outcome of a comparison, Iraq recorded 16 additional deaths and about 4,200 injuries.

Iraq, Morocco and Saudi Arabia lead in terms of the number of injuries and deaths.

Recently, the rate of infections and deaths due to the virus has decreased significantly in Arab countries, including Morocco and Tunisia.

In the Palestinian territories, which are witnessing an upward trend of the outbreak of the Coronavirus, the authorities counted 10 additional deaths and about two thousand cases of corona, including 175 cases in the Gaza Strip.

On Monday, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced the launch of the Coronavirus vaccination campaign, with priority given to medical personnel working in combating the epidemic.

Toll around the world

Globally, Coronavirus infections have risen today to about 112.5 million, and this comes at a time when vaccination campaigns with many vaccines continue in more than a hundred countries at a varying pace.

As for the deaths, they are now close to 2.5 million, according to Worldometer.

The ten countries most affected by the epidemic in terms of injuries and deaths are, respectively: the United States, India, Brazil, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, and Germany.

On Monday, the death toll from the Corona virus in the United States exceeded half a million deaths, prompting US President Joe Biden to issue an order to flank his country's flag on government buildings until sunset on Friday in honor of the victims.

Biden said in a sad speech at the White House that the number of deaths due to Corona in America in one year exceeded the number of Americans killed in the two world wars and the Vietnam War, describing it as tragic.

America, the largest epicenter of the virus in the world, recorded more than 28 million infections Monday, according to a Reuters count based on public health data.

The daily death toll and the number of people receiving treatment in US hospitals have fallen to the lowest level since before Thanksgiving and Christmas.

About 19% of the total Corona virus deaths worldwide occurred in the United States, which is a very large percentage, if we take into account that the country's population represents only 4% of the world's population.