Covid: an extra 700,000 deaths by spring in Europe, according to WHO

Published by Caroline de Sortiraparis · Published on November 23th, 2021 at 04:30 p.m.
As the Covid epidemic is surging again in some EU countries, the World Health Organization fears 700,000 more people might die on the Continent by spring.

In early November, the WHO spoke about 500,000 extra deaths in Europe by February 2022 because of the resurgence of the Covid-19 epidemic. This November 23, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) did not hide their worries facing with the "firm grip" of the epidemic, correcting there calculations. Now, the World Health Organization fears 700,000 extra deaths on the continent by spring.

We can expect that there will be high or extreme stress on hospital beds in 25 countries, and high or extreme stress in intensive care units (ICUs) in 49 out of 53 countries between now and 1 March 2022,” a WHO Europe statement said, Cumulative reported deaths are projected to reach over 2.2 million by spring next year, based on current trends.”.

For the record, many EU countries have been struggling for a few weeks now with a strong epidemic resurgence, forcing them to reinstate strict restrictions such as in Austria and Germany.

The reasons of this epidemic resurgence in Europe? The vaccination coverage is insufficient, according to WHO, and some health measures have been made too early, such as the end of facemask-wearing in some places. "Reliable projections show that if we achieved 95% universal mask use in Europe and central Asia, we could save up to 188 000 lives of the half a million lives we may lose before February 2022", Hans Kluge also said earlier this November.

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