The Regional Director of the World Health Organization in Europe, Hans Kluge, confirmed that Europe is currently witnessing a "surge" in cases of the Covid-19 epidemic, calling on countries to continue their efforts to confront it and not close schools except as a last measure.
Kluge said in an interview with Agence France-Presse, "We are witnessing a surge" in the number of injuries, with "one million additional injuries recorded in just a few days" in Europe and "we are also witnessing a gradual increase in deaths."
In recent weeks, Europe has turned into the epicenter of the epidemic and is witnessing its fastest spread in the world, with the largest number of infections recorded, ahead of Latin America and the Caribbean, according to an AFP census.
"We cannot be complacent," Kluga warned, "We will go through a bit difficult period, we have to be frank about that."
The World Health Organization's Europe region, which includes 53 countries, including Russia, has recorded more than 11.8 million injuries and about 295,000 deaths since the beginning of the epidemic, according to the organization.
In the past seven days, about 1.8 million new infections were recorded, in addition to 19,500 deaths.
The World Health Organization estimates that "with the generalization of muzzle wear and strict control of gatherings, we can save the lives of more than 261 thousand people by February in Europe."
Kluge pointed out that "maintaining the status quo is unacceptable," and the United Nations calls on countries to take "specific and proportionate" measures to cope with the high number of injuries and deaths.
He attributed the severity of the epidemic in Europe to population aging and the registration of a large number of concurrent diseases.
European governments continue to tighten measures to confront the second wave of Covid-19, which is burdening the economy in the euro area, and leads to a significant rise in public debt. England entered a new lockdown on Thursday, followed by Greece on Saturday, while Italy and Cyprus impose a curfew.
