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    Covid: WHO warns Europe once again at epicentre of pandemic

    Europe is once again “at the epicentre” of the Covid pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned, as cases soar across the continent.

    At a press conference WHO Europe head Hans Kluge said the continent could see half a million more deaths by February.

    He blamed insufficient vaccine take-up for the rise.

    “We must change our tactics, from reacting to surges of Covid-19 to preventing them from happening in the first place,” he said.

    The rate of vaccination has slowed across the continent in recent months. While some 80% of people in Spain are double jabbed, that number is lower in France and Germany – at 68% and 66% respectively – and lower still in some central and eastern European countries. Only 32% of Russians were fully vaccinated by October 2021.

    Mr Kluge also blamed a relaxation of public health measures for rising infections in the WHO’s European region, which covers 53 countries including parts of Central Asia. So far the WHO has recorded 1.4 million deaths across the region.

    The WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, said over the past four weeks cases across Europe had soared over 55%, despite an “ample supply of vaccines and tools”, and colleague Dr Mike Ryan said Europe’s experience was a “warning shot for the world”.

    It came as Germany recorded more than 37,000 daily Covid cases on Friday, a record high for the second day running. The incidence rate per 100,000 people is now higher than it was in April, at 169,9, but well below the level in the UK.

    German public health officials are worried that a fourth wave of infection could lead to a large number of deaths and pressure on the health system. In the past 24 hours 154 deaths have been recorded, up from 121 a week ago.

    Lothar Wieler of Germany’s RKI institute spoke on Thursday of terrifying numbers. “If we don’t take counter-measures now, this fourth wave will bring yet more suffering,” he said. Among the many Germans who have not been vaccinated are more than three million over-60s, seen at particular risk.

    But as Hans Kluge pointed out, the surge in cases is not confined to Germany.

    The most dramatic rises in fatalities have been in the past week in Russia, where more than 8,100 deaths were recorded, and Ukraine, with 3,800 deaths. Both countries have very low rates of vaccination and Ukraine announced a record 27,377 new cases in the past 24 hours.

    Coronavirusdata in detail

    Scroll table to see more data

    *Deaths per 100,000 peopleFilter:                 The world                 Africa                 North America                 Latin America & Caribbean                 Asia                 Europe                 Middle East                 Oceania             

    CountryDeathsDeath rate*Total CasesNew Cases0101001k10k**
    Russia234,194162.28,377,984JAN 2020OCT 2021
    UK140,632210.49,057,629
    Italy132,100219.14,771,965
    France117,655175.47,166,877
    Germany95,757115.24,607,958
    Spain87,368185.65,011,148
    Poland76,999202.83,025,247
    Ukraine72,371163.13,072,044
    Turkey70,61184.68,032,958
    Romania47,751246.71,648,031
    Czech Republic30,775288.41,765,654
    Hungary30,729314.5863,419
    Belgium25,994226.31,360,650
    Bulgaria23,999344.0602,492
    Netherlands18,411106.22,132,052
    Portugal18,157176.81,090,651
    Greece15,938148.7742,170
    Sweden15,025146.11,171,512
    Slovakia13,034239.0483,773
    Bosnia and Herzegovina11,495348.2252,758
    Austria11,357127.9830,981
    Switzerland11,234131.0872,558
    Georgia10,089271.2721,388
    Serbia9,955143.31,142,749
    Croatia9,220226.7470,348
    Moldova7,790293.1337,768
    North Macedonia7,132342.3202,552
    Azerbaijan7,07470.6531,370
    Armenia6,379215.7309,397
    Lithuania5,913212.2410,580
    Ireland5,436110.0445,594
    Slovenia4,745227.3335,850
    Belarus4,63148.9600,168
    Latvia3,253170.1219,139
    Kosovo2,977165.9160,762
    Albania2,924102.4185,300
    Denmark2,71446.6387,783
    Montenegro2,103338.0144,314
    Estonia1,531115.4193,969
    Finland1,15821.0157,531
    Norway90016.8207,280
    Luxembourg843136.081,683
    Cyprus57548.0124,017
    Malta46191.737,653
    Andorra130168.515,516
    Channel Islands10359.813,070
    Gibraltar98290.85,992
    San Marino92271.75,547
    Liechtenstein61160.43,662
    Isle of Man5767.49,691
    Monaco3692.43,414
    Iceland339.113,492
    Faroe Islands24.12,145
    Vatican00.027

    Show more

    This information is regularly updated but may not reflect the latest totals for each country.

    ** The past data for new cases is a three day rolling average. Due to revisions in the number of cases, an average cannot be calculated for this date.

    Source: Johns Hopkins University and national public health agencies

    Figures last updated: 1 November 2021, 09:31 GMT

    Romania recorded its highest number of deaths in 24 hours this week at 591 while in Hungary, daily Covid infections have more than doubled in the past week to 6,268. Mask-wearing is only required on public transport and in hospitals.

    “At the moment we seem to be hell-bent on a course that says the pandemic is over, we just need to vaccinate a few more people. That is not the case,” said Dr Ryan, who called for every country to plug the holes in their response.

    This week the Dutch government said it would reimpose mask-wearing and social distancing in many public settings as it emerged that hospital admissions had gone up 31% in a week.

    Croatia recorded 6,310 new cases on Thursday, its highest number so far. Slovakia has reported its second highest number of cases and Czech infections have returned to levels last seen in spring.

    England’s deputy chief medical officer Prof Jonathan Van-Tam said on Wednesday that too many people believed the pandemic was over.

    However, in countries with the highest vaccination rates, infection rates are still relatively low.

    Italy has one of the highest vaccination rates for over-12s but even here new cases are up 16.6% in the past week.

    Portuguese infections have risen above 1,000 for the first time since September. Spain is one of the few countries not to see a rise in transmission with 2,287 cases reported on Wednesday.

    BBC.com

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