COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom

Ljubljana – The more virulent variants of coronavirus appear not to be very widespread in Slovenia yet. Two labs which conduct genetic sequencing have so far identified 35 cases of the UK variant and not a single case of the South African or Brazilian variant.

The SARS-CoV-2 variant, lineage B.1.1.7 is already spreading in half of the country's counties and there is a high probability of covering the entire territory of Romania in the near future, the National Institute of Public Health indicated on Tuesday, in the epidemiological analysis of the first 136 cases of COVID-19 in Romania confirmed with new variants of the virus.

England's schools will reopen from March 8 at the earliest, Boris Johnson announced today.

The Prime Minister dashed hopes of parents, MPs and campaigners who hoped schools would begin reopening on February 22 - immediately after the February half term.

But he said he "hopes" they will begin to reopen from March 8, two weeks later than planned.

Ljubljana – Slovenia reported 357 coronavirus infections on Monday from a total of 11,253 tests in what continues to be a week-on-week decline. Slovenia has met both thresholds for entering the orange tier of restrictions, an improvement that may also be a result of scaled-down testing over the long weekend. 19 Covid patients died, show fresh official data.

The possibility of an even tighter lockdown this week at any given moment is not being ruled out, according to government sources, who note that existing measures to prevent the pandemic from veering out of control are being evaluated on a daily basis. 

Another 27 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the new UK variant - genetic line B 1.1.7, were reported on Friday by the National Centre for Communicable Diseases Surveillance and Control within the National Institute of Public Health, informs the Ministry of Health.

Turkey may see a surge in COVID-19 cases in the months to come due to the different virus variants found in more than 20 provinces, experts have warned, urging the public to remain vigilant and exercise caution.

Globally, the burden of Covid-19 cases has decreased, but the uneven distribution of life-saving vaccines could prolong the economic recovery and leave developing countries even further behind, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, CNBC reported.

Health authorities and scientists are on alert for the apparent spread of the British variant of SARS-CoV-2 and the detection of the South African variant in Greece.

Another vaccine against Covid, trialled in the UK and bought by the government, has been shown to be nearly 90% effective and work against the UK and South African variants of the virus.