Gulf Today Report
Britain reported 158 deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test on Saturday, a drop from 236 on Friday.
New cases totalled 6,040, a slight rise on Friday's 5,947, government data showed, while the number of people who had received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine rose to 21,796,278, according to Reuters.
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More over, Europe recorded 1 million new coronavirus cases last week, an increase of 9% from the previous week and a reversal that ended a six-week decline, according to the World Health Organization.
According to the WHO, Europe has recorded 1 million new coronavirus cases last week.
Among the hard-hit places is the Milan suburb of Bollate, where the virus swept through a nursery school and an adjacent elementary school with alarming speed. In a matter of just days, 45 children and 14 staff members tested positive.
Genetic analysis confirmed it was the highly contagious variant first identified in England late last year. The surge is leading to new restrictions across the continent.
Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, says the spread of variants is driving the increase, but so is "the opening of society, when it is not done in a safe and a controlled manner.”
The British variant is spreading significantly in 27 European countries monitored by WHO and is dominant in at least 10 by the agency’s count: Britain, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Israel, Spain and Portugal.