Even so, the expert stressed that “the epidemiological situation in the countries is not the same now” that occurred six months ago, at the height of the peak of the covid-19 pandemic in Europe.
This is because, according to Andrea Ammon, the notification rate “depends on several factors”, with “the most relevant number of tests being carried out”, an area in which there was also an increase, with more detections and tracking.
But despite the increase in the number of tests, what the ECDC verified was that “there were really more infections” in the last few days, according to the director of this European center, who justified it with the total number of positive cases among the tested population.
Andrea Ammon reiterated, also, that at the beginning of August “it was the youngest people who were being most affected”, which was demonstrated by the low number of hospitalizations in Europe.
However, that situation has changed: “Now we see that the older population is being more affected, which demonstrates an increase in contagions”.
The ECDC director also said that “there is no homogeneous image in the EU” regarding the pandemic.
These statements are similar to those of the deputy head of the ECDC’s disease program, Piotr Kramarz, who in an interview with the Lusa agency published in the past said that Europe is facing, at two speeds, the covid-19 pandemic, with some countries already experiencing resurgences of the virus, while others did not even leave the first wave.
“What we are seeing is an increase in the number of cases […]. These numbers are increasing in many countries, they have been increasing in different periods of time, but definitely [mais] in the last few weeks ”, contextualized Piotr Kramarz, referring to the sharp rises, in the last weeks, in the number of daily cases in countries like Italy, Spain, France and Germany, which were the most affected since the beginning of the pandemic in Europe.
According to the scientist, however, it cannot be said that this is already the second wave of the new coronavirus in Europe: “Some countries probably have not even left the first wave, while others have had a reduction in the number of cases and, now they are seeing an increase ”.
Piotr Kramarz emphasized, however, that the increase in the number of cases may not always mean the reappearance of covid-19, as it may be linked to the increase in tests.
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