Stockholm, Jan. 28, (dpa/GNA) – Coronavirus vaccines being rolled out in Europe offer hope in tackling the pandemic, but new variants of the virus present “greater uncertainty and risk,” the head of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) European office says.
As of Thursday, 33 European countries have reported cases of the variant initially identified in Britain, while 16 have reported a variant first identified in South Africa.
“Lockdowns, introduced to limit the spread of the virus, particularly the more transmissible new variants, have resulted in a decrease in new cases across the region,” Hans Kluge of the Copenhagen-based agency said.
“Yet, transmission rates across Europe are still very high, impacting health systems and straining services, making it too early to ease up,” he cautioned.
The WHO Europe chief noted that just more than 3 per cent of people in the region have had a confirmed Covid-19 infection, warning that “areas hit badly once can be hit again.”
“In the face of new, more-transmissible variants of the virus, we will need to keep our guard up,” Kluge said.
He called for “patience and resilience” to heed “the necessary measures that protect our health systems from collapsing under waves of a more transmissible virus.”
Europe has recorded about one-third of the world’s Covid-19 cases. The global tally exceeded 100 million cases by some measures this week.
Meanwhile, 35 countries in the European region have begun vaccinations, administering 25 million doses so far.
The WHO European region groups 53 countries.
GNA