The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that coronavirus cases had tripled in Europe in the past six weeks, accounting for almost half of all infections worldwide. Hospitalization rates also doubled, although intensive care admissions remained low.
In a statement on Tuesday, WHO Director for Europe Dr Hans Kluge described COVID-19 as “an unpleasant and life-threatening disease” that people should not underestimate. He added that highly infectious subvariants of the Omicron variant were causing new waves of the disease across the continent and that repeated infections could potentially lead to long COVID.
“As cases increase, we are also seeing an increase in hospitalizations, which are only expected to increase further in the fall and winter,” Dr. Kluge said. This forecast presents a huge challenge for health workers in all countries, already under enormous pressure in the face of relentless crises since 2020.”
Earlier this week, the editors of two UK medical journals said the country’s National Health Service had never had so many parts of the system so close to collapse.
Kamran Abbasi, of British Medical Journaland Alastair McLellan, of Health Service Journalwrote in a joint editorial that the UK government was failing to address lingering problems made worse by COVID-19, including ambulances queuing outside hospitals too overcrowded to accept new patients.
They criticized the government’s insistence that vaccines broke the link between infections and hospitalizations. Although vaccines greatly reduce the risk of serious illness and death, they have not significantly reduced transmission.
“The government must stop the cognitive hijacking and be honest about the threat the pandemic still poses to it and the National Health Service,” the editors wrote.
The WHO released its fall COVID-19 strategy on Tuesday. The UN health agency has called for a second booster dose of the vaccine for anyone aged 5 and over with a weakened immune system, encouraging mask-wearing indoors and on public transport, and a better ventilation in schools, offices and other places.
Dr Kluge said countries in the southern hemisphere were currently experiencing a very active flu season which, combined with COVID-19, was straining health systems.
“We are likely to see a similar scenario in the northern hemisphere,” Dr Kluge said, warning that increased pressure could lead to chaos in business, travel and education.
He urged people to make their own decisions, even in countries where authorities have largely dropped restrictions.
“We are all aware of the tools we have to keep ourselves safe, assess our level of risk and take the necessary steps to protect others if we become infected,” Dr Kluge said. Just because a mask isn’t mandatory doesn’t mean it’s prohibited. »