Europe is once again "at the epicentre" of the Covid pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned, as cases soar across the continent.
At a press conference WHO Europe head Hans Kluge said the continent could see half a million more deaths by February.
He blamed insufficient vaccine take-up for the rise.
"We must change our tactics, from reacting to surges of Covid-19 to preventing them from happening in the first place," he said.
The rate of vaccination has slowed across the continent in recent months. While some 80% of people in Spain are double jabbed, in Germany it is as low as 66% - and far lower in some Eastern European countries. Only 32% of Russians were fully vaccinated by October 2021.
Mr Kluge also blamed a relaxation of public health measures for rising infections in the WHO's European region, which covers 53 countries including parts of Central Asia. So far the WHO has recorded 1.4 million deaths across the region.
The WHO's technical lead on Covid-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, said over the past four weeks cases across Europe had soared over 55%, despite an "ample supply of vaccines and tools", and colleague Dr Mike Ryan said Europe's experience was a "warning shot for the world".
It came as Germany recorded more than 37,000 daily Covid cases on Friday, a record high for the second day running. The incidence rate per 100,000 people is now higher than it was in April, at 169,9, but well below the level in the UK.
German public health officials are worried that a fourth wave of infection could lead to a large number of deaths and pressure on the health system. In the past 24 hours 154 deaths have been recorded, up from 121 a week ago.
Lothar Wieler of Germany's RKI institute spoke on Thursday of terrifying numbers. "If we don't take counter-measures now, this fourth wave will bring yet more suffering," he said. Among the many Germans who have not been vaccinated are more than three million over-60s, seen at particular risk.
Covid passes set to stay as Europe heads for winter
But as Hans Kluge pointed out, the surge in cases is not confined to Germany.
The most dramatic rises in fatalities have been in the past week in Russia, where more than 8,100 deaths were recorded, and Ukraine, with 3,800 deaths. Both countries have very low rates of vaccination and Ukraine announced a record 27,377 new cases in the past 24 hours.
New Cases
0
10
100
1k
10k
**
Russia 234,194 162.2 8,377,984
JAN 2020
OCT 2021
UK 140,632 210.4 9,057,629
Italy 132,100 219.1 4,771,965
France 117,655 175.4 7,166,877
Germany 95,757 115.2 4,607,958
Spain 87,368 185.6 5,011,148
Poland 76,999 202.8 3,025,247
Ukraine 72,371 163.1 3,072,044
Turkey 70,611 84.6 8,032,958
Romania 47,751 246.7 1,648,031
Czech Republic 30,775 288.4 1,765,654
Hungary 30,729 314.5 863,419
Belgium 25,994 226.3 1,360,650
Bulgaria 23,999 344.0 602,492
Netherlands 18,411 106.2 2,132,052
Portugal 18,157 176.8 1,090,651
Greece 15,938 148.7 742,170
Sweden 15,025 146.1 1,171,512
Slovakia 13,034 239.0 483,773
Bosnia and Herzegovina 11,495 348.2 252,758
Austria 11,357 127.9 830,981
Switzerland 11,234 131.0 872,558
Georgia 10,089 271.2 721,388
Serbia 9,955 143.3 1,142,749
Croatia 9,220 226.7 470,348
Moldova 7,790 293.1 337,768
North Macedonia 7,132 342.3 202,552
Azerbaijan 7,074 70.6 531,370
Armenia 6,379 215.7 309,397
Lithuania 5,913 212.2 410,580
Ireland 5,436 110.0 445,594
Slovenia 4,745 227.3 335,850
Belarus 4,631 48.9 600,168
Latvia 3,253 170.1 219,139
Kosovo 2,977 165.9 160,762
Albania 2,924 102.4 185,300
Denmark 2,714 46.6 387,783
Montenegro 2,103 338.0 144,314
Estonia 1,531 115.4 193,969
Finland 1,158 21.0 157,531
Norway 900 16.8 207,280
Luxembourg 843 136.0 81,683
Cyprus 575 48.0 124,017
Malta 461 91.7 37,653
Andorra 130 168.5 15,516
Channel Islands 103 59.8 13,070
Gibraltar 98 290.8 5,992
San Marino 92 271.7 5,547
Liechtenstein 61 160.4 3,662
Isle of Man 57 67.4 9,691
Monaco 36 92.4 3,414
Iceland 33 9.1 13,492
Faroe Islands 2 4.1 2,145
Vatican 0 0.0 27
Show more
This information is regularly updated but may not reflect the latest totals for each country.
The past data for new cases is a three day rolling average. Due to revisions in the number of cases, an average cannot be calculated for this date.
Source: Johns Hopkins University and national public health agencies
Figures last updated: 1 November 2021, 09:31 GMT
1px transparent line
Romania recorded its highest number of deaths in 24 hours this week at 591 while in Hungary, daily Covid infections have more than doubled in the past week to 6,268. Mask-wearing is only required on public transport and in hospitals.
"At the moment we seem to be hell-bent on a course that says the pandemic is over, we just need to vaccinate a few more people. That is not the case," said Dr Ryan, who called for every country to plug the holes in their response.
This week the Dutch government said it would reimpose mask-wearing and social distancing in many public settings as it emerged that hospital admissions had gone up 31% in a week.
Croatia recorded 6,310 new cases on Thursday, its highest number so far. Slovakia has reported its second highest number of cases and Czech infections have returned to levels last seen in spring.
England's deputy chief medical officer Prof Jonathan Van-Tam said on Wednesday that too many people believed the pandemic was over.
However, in countries with the highest vaccination rates, infection rates are still relatively low.
Italy has one of the highest vaccination rates for over-12s but even here new cases are up 16.6% in the past week.
Portuguese infections have risen above 1,000 for the first time since September. Spain is one of the few countries not to see a rise in transmission with 2,287 cases reported on Wednesday.
SOURCE : BBC
