Copenhagen:
The World Health Organization on Thursday urged Europeans to travel responsibly in the course of the summer time vacation season and warned the continent was “by no means out of danger” in the battle against COVID-19 regardless of a steady decline of infection prices in current weeks.
“With increasing social gatherings, greater population mobility, and large festivals and sports tournaments taking place in the coming days and weeks, WHO Europe calls for caution,” the WHO’s European head Hans Kluge told a press briefing.
“If you choose to travel, do it responsibly. Be conscious of the risks. Apply common sense and don’t jeopardize hard-earned gains,” Kluge stated.
Over the last two months, new COVID-19 situations, deaths and hospitalisations have declined, prompting 36 out of 53 nations in the area to start off easing restrictions.
The quantity of reported COVID-19 infections last week came in at 368,000, a fifth of weekly situations reported in the course of a peak in April this year, Kluge stated.
“We should all recognize the progress made across most countries in the region, we must also acknowledge that we are by no means out of danger,” he added.
Kluge stated the so-referred to as Delta variant, which was initial identified in India, was a matter of concern. This variant, he stated, “shows increased transmissibility and some immune escape is poised to take hold in the region while many among vulnerable populations, above the age of 60, remain unprotected.”
Countries really should find out from the resurgence in situations seen more than the summer time last year, even as vaccinations are becoming rolled out across the area.
With just 30% in the area obtaining received their initial dose of vaccines, this would not be adequate to protect against a further wave of the virus, he stated.
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