WHO: “Europe could have half a million more deaths from coronavirus if we continue as usual”

The regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) For Europe, Hans Kluge, warned on Tuesday that the continent is facing a “harsh winter” due to the rebound in covid-19 and reiterated that the region is at the “epicenter” of the pandemic. In addition, he warned that the Old Continent could register half a million more deaths per coronavirus from now to February if no action is taken.

SIGHT: WHO warns that Europe faces a “harsh winter” due to the rebound in the coronavirus pandemic

“According to a fairly reliable estimate, we would have to expect half a million deaths until February 1 if we continue as before, and it worries me. The good news is that we know what to do. Why do we have problems again? Because in more than half of the countries in the region, vaccination has stagnated. A couple of months ago the main issue was availability, now the problem is skepticism towards vaccines, fake news”, Hans Kluge said in an interview with La Vanguardia.

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“A second thing is the relaxation of public health and social measures. If a country sees an increase in cases, it cannot relax. Preventive measures are not an attack on freedom, on the contrary. For example, the covid passport. It is a collective tool for individual freedom, and thus we avoid going to harsher confinements like a year ago. I have a bit of the impression that people have forgotten what happened. They say: ‘covid passport, where is my freedom?’, But a year ago the economy of the whole world stopped. I am going to create a working group in Europe for the acceptance of the vaccine ”, added.

The regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Europe, Hans Kluge. (ALEXANDER ASTAFYEV / SPUTNIK / AFP).

Kluge participated in the opening of the 44th World Hospital Congress in the Spanish city of Barcelona.

In his speech, Kluge stressed that the European region of the WHO -which includes 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, including Russia and several former Soviet republics- registered about two million new cases last week and accumulates about 1.5 million deaths from the virus.

“Our region is the epicenter of the pandemic, with a growth in transmission, hospitalizations and deaths”, he emphasized, after warning that the continent is facing a “harsh winter.”

In this regard, he made a call to intensify vaccination, to the general population but especially among health personnel, to “keep the virus at bay”, and pointed out that in up to seven countries in the region there are less than 20% of health workers with the complete guideline.

“Extensive vaccination and preventive measures are the only way to alleviate the growing pressure in hospitals and health systems”, he stressed.

The WHO director cited some of the “lessons” learned during the pandemic, such as coordination between health and institutional actors, the strengthening of primary care, the modernization of facilities or health care for health workers, as well as the increase in numbers or digitization, among others.

Countries in the region are currently particularly affected by the covid-19, with an incidence of coronavirus in Germany at its highest level since the pandemic began and in Russia record deaths from the virus with more than 1,200 deaths in the last day.

With information from EFE

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