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Agence France-Presse

The rising number of cases of Covid-19 in Europe is of “grave concern” and the region could see another half a million deaths by early next year, the World Health Organization warned on Thursday.
With 78 million cases in the WHO’s European region – which spans 53 countries and territories and includes several nations in Central Asia – the cumulative toll now exceeded that of Southeast Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean region, the Western Pacific, and Africa combined, the organisation said.
“We are, once again, at the epicentre,” WHO Europe director Hans Kluge told a press conference.
Kluge noted that the “current pace of transmission across the 53 countries of the European region is of grave concern.”
‘Hard months to come’ for Britain this winter as Covid-19 deaths rise
According to “one reliable projection” the current trajectory would mean “another half a million Covid-19 deaths” by February, Kluge added.
The increases were observed “across all age groups,” he said.
Kluge blamed the soaring caseload on “insufficient vaccination coverage” and “the relaxation of public health and social measures.”
Hospital admission rates were higher in countries with lower vaccination rates, he said.
Measures like testing, tracing, physical distancing and the use of face masks were still part of the “arsenal” in fighting the virus.
“We must change our tactics, from reacting to surges of Covid-19, to preventing them from happening in the first place,” Kluge said.


The number of new cases per day has been rising for nearly six consecutive weeks in Europe and the number of new deaths per day has been rising for just over seven consecutive weeks, with about 250,000 cases and 3,600 deaths per day, according to official country data compiled by AFP.
Over the past seven days, Russia has led the rise with 8,162 deaths, followed by Ukraine with 3,819 deaths and Romania with 3,100 deaths, according to the data.
Meanwhile, Germany on Thursday saw its biggest daily rise in Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began, figures from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) health agency showed.
The country recorded 33,949 new infections in the past 24 hours, RKI said, beating the previous daily record of 33,777 on December 18, 2020.

Ministers have blamed Germany’s relatively low vaccination rate for the surge, with just 66.9 per cent of the population fully inoculated as of Thursday, according to official figures.
Health professionals say unvaccinated people account for most patients in intensive care, with numbers rising rapidly.
“We are currently experiencing mainly a pandemic of the unvaccinated and it is massive,” Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Wednesday, warning that “in some regions in Germany intensive care beds are running out again”.


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Coronavirus pandemic

Europe could see another half a million Covid-19 deaths by February, WHO warns

Medical workers care for a Covid-19 patient at a hospital in Dresden, Germany. Photo: dpa via AP

A medical staff member wearing a special suit to protect against COVID-19 treats a patient with coronavirus at an ICU at the Regional Clinical Hospital 1, in Krasnodar, south Russia, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. Coronavirus deaths in Russia hit another daily record several days after a nationwide order for many Russians to stay off work took effect. Russia's state coronavirus task force has reported record daily infections or deaths almost every day for the last month. (AP Photo/Vitali Timkiv)

People wait at a Covid-19 vaccination centre in Berlin, Germany. Photo: AP

Britain is first to approve Merck’s Covid-19 pill molnupiravir

In October, Britain agreed a deal with Merck to secure 480,000 courses of molnupiravir. Photo: Reuters

‘Hard months to come’ for Britain this winter as Covid-19 deaths rise: health chief

People walk along a busy shopping street in the British city of Liverpool last month. Photo: Reuters

The COVID-19 memorial wall stretches into the horizon in Westminster in London, Friday, Oct. 15, 2021. Bereaved Families for Justice have been re-painting the faded hearts on the tribute and adding inscriptions for people who can not get to the wall. It can take between five to ten minutes to walk the heart-festooned memorial wall in London commemorating those who died from COVID-19 in the U.K — way longer if you pause every few steps to read the heartfelt messages of love that bereaved families and friends have overlaid the pink and red hearts with. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Europe

Coronavirus


WHO official Hans Kluge said the ‘current pace of transmission across the 53 countries of the European region is of grave concern’
He blamed the soaring caseload on ‘insufficient vaccination coverage’



WHO official Hans Kluge said the ‘current pace of transmission across the 53 countries of the European region is of grave concern.’


Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

World Health Organization (WHO)