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PVO European The region, which covers 53 countries, including a number of Central Asian countries, is now ahead of South-East Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa combined, with 78 million Covid-19 cases in cumulative terms.
“We are at the epicenter again,” said Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, at a news conference.
“The current rate of transmissions in 53 countries in the region is a matter of serious concern,” the official said.
According to “one plausible projection”, the current trajectory could mean “another half a million deaths of Covid-19” by February, Kluge added.
The increase is being seen in all age groups, he said.
Kluges explained the increase in Covid-19 cases by “insufficient vaccination coverage” as well as “facilitation of public health and social measures”.
The number of hospitalizations is higher in countries with lower vaccination rates, he explained.
Measures such as testing, contact tracing, physical distancing and the use of face masks are still in the arsenal of the virus, Kluge said.
“We need to change our tactics from responding to the increase in Covid-19 cases to efforts to prevent this from happening at all,” the official urged.
The number of new cases of Covid-19 registered in Europe during the day is rising for six weeks in a row, with around 250,000 infections and 3,600 deaths every day, according to AFP estimates.
In the past seven days, with 8,162 deaths in the first place is Russia, but it follows Ukraine a Romania with 3819 and 3100 deaths, according to official data.
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