The recent suspension of AstraZenecca vaccine in some European countries makes it uncertain when the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic will subside in the continent.

Though the number of new coronavirus infections is falling dramatically in some countries, including the UK and Portugal, some other countries are seeing an upswing in infections.

With numerous variants of the COVID-19 virus circulating in France, the country has entered "a kind of third wave" of infections, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Tuesday.

Jean Castex's statement came on the one-year mark of the first coronavirus lockdown on March 16, 2020. Since then, the virus has claimed over 90,000 lives, and the confirmed cases have crossed four million.

Italy, as the first European country imposing a national lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus in 2020, entered a new period of semi-lockdown on Monday. Over half of its 20 regions are in a "red zone" and subjected to a maximum level of restrictions.

The regional lockdowns are said to be the government's attempts to contain a recent surge of coronavirus cases marred by the presence of new variants.

In Germany, coronavirus infections are reportedly rising exponentially, putting at risk plans to lift the lockdown and revive the economy.

The number of cases per 100,000 reported on Tuesday was 83.7, up from 68 a week ago. The Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases has said the metric could reach 200 by the middle of next month.

Germany is the third wave of the pandemic, driven by easing restrictions in recent weeks, just as a more transmissible variant is spreading, Dirk Brockmann, an epidemiologist at the RKI, told Germany's ARD television.

Things in the continent seems to be worse since 13 European countries suspended the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine over fears of the safety of the jab following several cases of blood clots or brain hemorrhages after patients were inoculated, with some deaths reported.

Sweden, Luxembourg and Cyprus on Tuesday became the latest nations to halt the roll-out, following moves by Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Ireland, Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania and Iceland.

Read more: Suspension of AstraZeneca worsens as WHO reviews vaccine data

The Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety of the World Health Organization (WHO) is reviewing available data.

On Tuesday, the WHO held a meeting discussing the vaccine, meanwhile, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) held a meeting to assess latest information and investigate each individual potentially adverse event.

EMA is scheduled to release its findings on Thursday.

EMA's executive director, Emer Cooke, on Tuesday said that more detailed scientific evaluation is needed before a conclusion is made on the safety of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and its possible link to blood clots in vaccinated people, but that the EMA is "firmly convinced" of the vaccine's benefits.

Read more: EMA says 'no indication' yet that AstraZeneca vaccine linked to blood clots

"At present, there is no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions. They have not come up in the clinical trials and they are not listed as known or expected side events with this vaccine," Cooke told the press conference.

Clinical trials had shown "very small numbers of blood clot developments," she added.

AstraZeneca said on Sunday a review of safety data of people vaccinated with its COVID-19 vaccine has shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots. 

(With input from agencies)