WHO warns Europe once again at epicentre of pandemic

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, that number is lower in France and Germany - at 68% and 66% respectively - and lower still in some central and eastern European countries. Only 32% of Russians were fully vaccinated by October 2021.

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.

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.

Latvia meanwhile is imposing a three-month state of emergency from Monday amid a record level of Covid infection.

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.