The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that cases of the coronavirus had tripled across Europe in the past six weeks. Hospitalizations have also doubled, although admissions to intensive care have remained low.
WHO Europe Director Hans Kluge described COVID-19 as “a nasty and potentially deadly disease” that people should not underestimate. He said super-infectious relatives of the omicron variant are driving new waves of disease across the continent and that repeated infections could potentially lead to long-lasting COVID.
“With increasing cases, we are also seeing an increase in hospitalizations, which will only increase in the fall and winter months,” Kluge said. “This forecast presents a major challenge to the health workforce in country after country, already under great pressure dealing with non-stop crises since 2020.”
Earlier this week, the editors of two British medical journals said that the country’s National Health Service had never before come close to collapse.
Kamran Abbasi of the BMJ and Alastair McLellan of the Health Service Journal wrote in a joint editorial that the UK government was failing to address the ongoing problems exacerbated by COVID.
They criticized the government’s insistence that vaccines have broken the link between infections and hospitalizations. Although vaccines dramatically reduce the chances of serious illness and death, they have not stopped the transmission of the virus.
“The government must stop manipulating the public and be honest about the threat the pandemic still poses to them and the National Health Service,” the editors write.
In the WHO’s autumn strategy for COVID-19 released on Tuesday, the UN health agency called for measures that include a second booster dose for anyone with a weak immune system aged 5 and over, promoting wearing masks indoors and on public transport and better ventilation, including in schools and offices.
He said that countries in the southern hemisphere are currently experiencing a very active flu season, which, combined with COVID, is straining health systems.
“It is possible that we will see a similar scenario in the Northern Hemisphere,” Kluge said, warning that the increased pressure could lead to chaos in business, travel and schools.
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 keep ourselves 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 mandatory doesn’t mean it’s prohibited.”
