Covid cases break records across Europe as winter takes hold
BUDAPEST: Coronavirus infections are hitting record levels in many countries across Europe as winter takes hold, prompting a call for action from the World Health Organization which described the new wave as a "grave concern".
Soaring numbers of cases, especially in Eastern Europe, have prompted debate on whether to reintroduce curbs on movement before the Christmas holiday season and on how to persuade more people to get vaccinated.
That conversation comes as some countries in Asia, with the notable exception of China, reopen their tourism sectors to the rest of the world.
"The current pace of transmission across the 53 countries of the European Region is of grave concern," regional WHO head Hans Kluge said, adding that the spread was exacerbated by the more transmissible Delta variant.
The virus spreads faster in the winter months when people gather indoors, Reuters reported.
Kluge warned earlier that if Europe followed its current trajectory, there could be 500,000 COVID-related deaths in the region by February.
"We must change our tactics, from reacting to surges of COVID-19, to preventing them from happening in the first place," he said.
The region saw a 6% increase in new cases last week, with nearly 1.8 million new cases, compared to the week before. The number of deaths rose 12% in the same period.
Germany, Europe's biggest economy, reported 37,120 reported new infections over the past 24 hours, according to the disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute. That compared with Thursday's figure of 33,949 which in turn topped the previous record of 33,777 set on Dec. 18 last year.
Cases in Russia and Ukraine are soaring.
Austria's daily new Coronavirus infections surged towards a record set a year ago, making a lockdown for the unvaccinated ever more likely.
COVID-19 prevalence in England rose to its highest level on record in October, Imperial College London said, led by a high numbers of cases in children and a surge in the southwest.
Slovakia reported 6,713 new cases, also a record, while daily new cases in Hungary more than doubled from last week to 6,268. Poland, Eastern Europe's biggest economy, reported 15,515 daily cases on Thursday, the highest figure since April. Croatia and Slovenia on Thursday both reported record daily infections.
China is also on high alert at ports of entry to reduce the risk of COVID-19 cases entering from abroad, and has stepped up restrictions amid a growing outbreak less than 100 days before the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The Hungarian government has urged people to take up vaccines and last week announced mandatory vaccinations at state institutions.
