The British capital, London, is preparing for the final lifting of the restrictions imposed to confront the emerging Corona virus (Covid 19), at a time when fears are rising about the delta mutator, which is spreading in a number of countries, including Russia and France, threatening to spark a new wave of infections.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is scheduled to hold a press conference to unveil the plan to lift restrictions to contain Corona, as of July 19.
The British government also announced that Queen Elizabeth will award the National Health Service the highest civilian honor in recognition of the role of health workers during the pandemic.
Earlier, Johnson called on the British to learn to live cautiously with the Corona virus as if it were a "flu".
It was scheduled to lift these restrictions on June 21, but this date was postponed by a month due to the spread of the highly contagious delta mutant, which currently represents most of the new cases of infection in the United Kingdom, as the number of infections approached 30,000 in the past days.
Britain - the country with the highest number of epidemic deaths in Europe (128,000) after Russia - has gradually emerged from its third winter shutdown, with restaurants, non-essential shops and cultural venues reopening in this country of 66 million people.
But some restrictions remained in place, such as teleworking, closing nightclubs or banning large gatherings of full capacity.
According to Downing Street, the latest data indicate that infections will continue to rise with the lifting of restrictions, but the admission of patients to hospitals, as well as the number of deaths, has decreased thanks to vaccination.
According to official data, at least 3,980,000 people have died since the virus appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.
The United States is the most affected country, with 605,526 deaths, followed by Brazil with more than 524,000 deaths, and India with 402,728 deaths.
Biden warns of Corona
In the United States, US President Joe Biden warned that the Corona virus "has not been defeated yet."
And Biden called - on Sunday - in a speech on the occasion of the anniversary of independence, his citizens to receive the vaccination, considering it "the most patriotic thing ever."
The United States has not recorded any decline in the number of new infections with the Corona virus, since the middle of last month, and the low vaccination rate in some areas raises the concern of experts.
A possible fourth wave in France
In France, government spokesman Gabriel Attal warned, on France Inter radio, that his country may witness a new rise in the number of corona infections by the end of this month due to the outbreak of the mutated delta.
"The epidemic has increased over the past week, with delta-mutated infections accounting for 30% of new cases," Atal said.
He indicated the possibility of a fourth wave of infections by the end of this month.
Vaccine crisis in Australia
In Australia, Brad Hazzard, the Minister of Health in the state of "New South Wales" - the most populous - likened the shortage of vaccines in Australia to the movie "The Hunger Games".
"It's as if people in the movie The Hunger Games are chasing after vaccines," he said, referring to desperate residents heading to vaccination centers and repeatedly calling health facilities in the hope of getting an appointment.
The highest daily death toll in Russia
And in Russia, the authorities announced yesterday, Sunday, that more than 25,000 new infections had been recorded, the highest toll since last January 2, when the country was emerging from the second epidemic wave, at a time when the country was facing an outbreak of the mutated “delta”.
Russia recorded record numbers of deaths from the Corona virus for 5 consecutive days, as it announced - the day before yesterday, Saturday - the death of 697 people in Corona, while the number of deaths from the epidemic reached 663 cases within 24 hours, according to official figures.
Oxygen crisis in Indonesia
In Southeast Asia, the Indonesian authorities requested, today, Monday, that all available quantities of oxygen be sent to hospitals filled with Corona patients, after recording new record levels of injuries and deaths.
"We have enough oxygen supply, but the demand is 3 or 4 times more, so there are distribution problems," said Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan.
He added that Indonesia - which is the Asian country most affected by the pandemic - may resort to importing if necessary.
Besides hospitals, the steel and mining industries are the main consumers of oxygen in mineral-rich Indonesia.
Today, Monday, the country recorded 29,745 new infections and 558 deaths, two records for daily numbers, after the government last week ordered the imposition of new restrictions to combat the epidemic in the capital, Jakarta, and on the islands of Java and Bali.
Mosques, parks, shopping centers and restaurants were closed in areas with large outbreaks, while non-essential employees were asked to work from home.