As winter sets in, coronavirus infections are at an alltime high in many European countries, prompting the World Health Organization to issue a call to action, describing the new wave as a “grave concern.”
The rising number of cases, particularly in Eastern Europe, has sparked debate over whether to reintroduce travel restrictions before the Christmas holiday season and how to urge more people to get vaccinated.
That conversation comes as some countries in Asia, with the notable exception of China, reopen their tourism sectors to the rest of the world.
“The current pace of transmission across the 53 countries of the European Region is of grave concern,” regional WHO head Hans Kluge said, adding that the spread was exacerbated by the more transmissible Delta variant.
The virus spreads faster in the winter months when people gather indoors.
Kluge has warned that if Europe continues on its current path, there might be 500,000 COVID-related deaths in the continent by February.
“We must change our tactics, from reacting to surges of COVID-19, to preventing them from happening in the first place,” he said.
In comparison to the previous week, the region recorded a 6% increase in new cases last week, with roughly 1.8 million new cases. During the same time period, the number of deaths increased by 12%.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, recorded 33,949 new cases on Monday, the highest daily increase since the pandemic began last year. Cases in Russia and Ukraine are on the rise.
Austria’s daily new coronavirus infections have surpassed a year-ago high, raising the prospect of a lockdown for the unvaccinated.
