Europe registered 1.4 million infections and 3,250 deaths last week, a new surge in Covid-19 that is forcing countries to prepare for an increase in cases and hospitalizations, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday.
‘We can’t afford to be complacent now’ The Lusa agency told Richard Pebody, head of the WHO/Europe High Pathogenic Threat Team based in Copenhagen, noting that the continent has registered an increase in infections from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus since early October.
With the arrival of autumn and the approach of winter, “we are concerned about a possible increase in the number of Covid-19 and the associated disease,” the epidemiologist acknowledged.
He said more than 1.4 million positive cases and 3,250 deaths were reported in Europe in the past week alone, bringing the total number of infections to about 260 million and a further 2.1 million deaths since the start of the pandemic.
“We encourage countries to prepare for possible further increases in cases and hospitalizations for Covid-19,” emphasized Richard Pebody, bearing in mind that some sub-variants of micron are more transmissible than their predecessors and many people are not vaccinated. continue or have incomplete vaccination.
“It’s also possible that there are other more transferable variants, so we can’t say for sure what will happen next.” the WHO/Europe specialist told Lusa, recalling that the most effective way to save lives, protect health systems and keep societies and economies open is to “vaccinate the right groups first.”
According to the head of the High Pathogenic Threat Team, despite the fact that many countries have reduced SARS-CoV-2 testing and sequencing, it is necessary to “continue to look for the virus”, otherwise they will become “more and more blind”. regarding their transmission patterns and their evolution.
“This virus won’t go away just because countries stop looking for it. It keeps spreading, it keeps changing and it continues to cause hospitalizations and cost lives,” warned Richard Pebody, for whom testing and genetic sequencing “keep going” are critical measures. for the monitoring” of SARS-CoV-2.
In view of this, the epidemiologist said the WHO is encouraging countries to “restart or maintain surveillance, testing, sequencing and contact tracing” so that vulnerable groups can be protected.
“The general population should have access to diagnoses, vaccines and treatments, especially those most at risk. Those who have yet to be vaccinated should get the vaccine to keep themselves and others safe,” he said.
In addition to Covid-19, the arrival of autumn and winter could lead to a “resurgence of the flu” after two years of low incidence of the disease, putting additional strain on health systems, he said.
To respond to this increased pressure on health services, the WHO has devised five “pandemic stabilisers”, measures it considers crucial to protect Europe’s population in the coming months.
These measures include increasing the vaccination rate of the general population and the administration of a second booster dose to immunocompromised individuals from the age of five and their close contacts.
In addition, the WHO recommends the use of masks in and on public transport, the ventilation of public and crowded areas such as schools, offices and public transport, and the application of strict therapeutic protocols for those at risk of serious illness.
Decisions on the protective measures to be implemented “have always been taken by Member States based on the transmission of the virus in their country. The WHO advice remains that an appropriate mask should be used in closed, confined, crowded and poorly ventilated environments. ‘ says Richard Pebody.
“We must recognize pandemic fatigue. We all just want this pandemic to end, but simple measures remain essential, especially in certain circumstances,” emphasized the WHO/Europe expert.
Source: DN
