EUROPE MUST ACT NOW TO AVOID STRICTER COVID MEASURES IN FUTURE: WHO OFFICIAL

Tue 19 July 2022:

A senior World Health Organization (WHO) official warned on Tuesday that countries need to speed up vaccination uptake and bring back measures like mask use to avoid stricter measures as autumn and winter approach. An Omicron offshoot is driving a growing COVID-19 wave in Europe.

In a Reuters interview, WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge urged nations to act quickly to prevent overstretching their health systems as the Omicron subvariant, BA.5, spreads rapidly.

Close to three million new COVID-19 cases were reported in the European region last week, which accounted for nearly half of all new cases globally. Hospitalisation rates have doubled over the same period, and close to 3,000 people die of the disease every week, Kluge said in an accompanying statement.

“There is a rise in cases … amidst a society which is functioning almost as before,” he said, underscoring the need for so-called pandemic stabilisers such as a second booster dose ahead of the expected variant-specific vaccines in the autumn, as well as the promotion of mask wearing and ventilation.

He advised that these stabilizers must be used to prevent the need for much stricter measures. “I don’t think society is ready for ordered lockdowns.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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