End of pandemic in sight for Europe, says WHO

Copenhagen: Two years after the outbreak of Covid-19, Europe could soon enter a "long period of tranquility" due to high vaccination rates, the milder Omicron variant and the end of winter, the WHO said Thursday.

WHO Europe director Hans Kluge said the respite was "a ceasefire that could bring us enduring peace".

"This context leaves us with the possibility for a long period of tranquility," he told reporters Thursday.

Widespread immunity from vaccines and infections, combined with the change of season, also puts Europe in a better position to fend off any resurgence in transmission he said.

"Even with a more virulent variant" than Omicron, Kluge said. "It is possible to respond to new variants that will inevitably emerge -- without re-installing the kind of disruptive measures we needed before", Kluge said.

This was "not to say that (the pandemic) is now all over", but "there is a singular opportunity to take control of the transmission", he stressed.

He cautioned that the optimistic scenario would only hold true if countries continued their vaccination campaigns and intensified surveillance to detect new variants.

He also urged health authorities to protect risk groups and to promote individual responsibility, such as social distancing and mask wearing.

With the more contagious Omicron variant in circulation, infections have surged across the WHO's European region, which comprises 53 countries, including some in central Asia.

Some 12 million new cases were registered last week in the region, according to the WHO, the highest level since the start of the pandemic.