LONDON (PA) – The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that coronavirus cases have tripled in Europe in the past six weeks, accounting for almost half of all infections worldwide. Hospitalization rates have also doubled, although admissions to intensive care have remained low.
In a statement on Tuesday, the WHO director for Europe, Dr Hans Kluge, described COVID-19 as “a nasty and life-threatening disease” that people should not underestimate. He said superinfectious relatives of the omicron variant were driving new waves of disease across the continent and that repeated infections could lead to a long COVID.
“With the increase in cases, we are also seeing an increase in hospitalizations, which will only increase further in the fall and winter months,” Kluge said. “This forecast presents a major challenge for the health workforce country after country, which is already under enormous pressure to deal with relentless crises since 2020.”
Earlier this week, the editors of two British medical journals said the country’s National Health Service had never before had so many parts of the system so close to collapsing.
Kamran Abbasi of the BMJ and Alastair McLellan of the Health Service Journal wrote in a joint editorial that the UK government was not resolving the persistent problems made worse by COVID, including ambulances lined up outside hospitals too crowded to accept new patients.
They criticized the government’s insistence that vaccines have broken the link between infections and hospitalizations. Although vaccines drastically reduce the chances of serious illness and death, they have not significantly affected transmission.
“The government must stop turning on the gas to the public and be honest about the threat the pandemic still poses to them and the National Health Service,” the editors wrote.
The WHO released its autumn strategy for COVID-19 on Tuesday. The United Nations health agency called for a second dose of vaccine booster for anyone 5 years of age or older with a weak immune system, promoting the use of masks indoors and on public transportation, and better ventilation in schools, offices and other places.
Kluge said countries in the southern hemisphere were currently experiencing a very active flu season that, combined with COVID, was endangering health systems.
“We’re likely to see a similar scenario in the northern hemisphere,” Kluge said, warning that increased pressure could lead to business, travel and school chaos.
He urged people to make their own decisions, even in countries where authorities have largely abandoned coronavirus restrictions.
“We are all aware of the tools we have to stay safe, assess our level of risk, and take the necessary steps to protect others if we become infected,” Kluge said. “Just because a mask isn’t required doesn’t mean it’s banned.”