LONDON: Coronavirus cases across Europe have tripled in the past six weeks, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, accounting for nearly half of all infections globally. Hospitalization rates have also doubled, although admissions to intensive care have remained low. In a statement on Tuesday, WHO’s Europe director, Dr Hans Kluge, described COVID-19 as “a terrible and potentially deadly disease” that people should not underestimate. He said the super-infectious relatives of the Omicron variant were driving new waves of disease across the continent and that repeated infections could potentially lead to prolonged COVID-19.
The WHO said 53 countries in its European region, which extends to Central Asia, reported nearly 3 million new coronavirus infections last week and the virus was killing around 3,000 people every week. Globally, COVID-19 cases have surged over the past five weeks, even as countries scale back on testing.
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“With the rising number of cases, we are also seeing a rise in hospitalizations, which are only set to increase further in the autumn and winter months,” Kluge said. “This forecast presents a major challenge for healthcare workers in country after country, which are already under enormous pressure to deal with the incredible crises that have been going on since 2020.”
Earlier this week, editors of two British medical journals said never before had so many parts of the country’s national healthcare system that were close to collapse.
Kamran Abbasi of the BMJ and Alastair McClellan of the Health Service Journal wrote in a joint editorial that the UK government has failed to address the steadily worsening problems from COVID, including ambulances lining up outside hospitals to accept new patients .
He condemned the government’s insistence that vaccines break the link between infection and hospitalization. Although vaccines dramatically reduce the chances of serious illness and death, they have not made a significant dent on transmission.
“The government must stop gaslighting the public and be honest about the danger the pandemic still poses to them and the National Health Service,” the editors wrote.
The WHO on Tuesday released its fall strategy for COVID-19. The United Nations health agency has recommended a second vaccine booster dose for anyone age 5 and older with a weakened immune system, promoting the wearing of masks indoors and on public transport, and better ventilation in schools, offices and other places. called upon.
Kluge said countries in the Southern Hemisphere were currently experiencing a very active flu season, which, together with COVID, was affecting health systems.
“We are likely to see a similar scenario in the Northern Hemisphere,” Kluge warned, adding that increasing pressure could lead to business, travel and school chaos. He urged people to make their own decisions, even in countries where authorities have largely waived coronavirus restrictions. “We are all aware of the tools we need to take to protect ourselves, assess our risk levels, and protect others if we become infected,” Kluge said.