More than 236,000 COVID-19-related deaths are expected in Europe within the next three months according to certain estimates, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe said on Monday.
“Several countries are starting to observe an increased burden on hospitals and more deaths. Last week there was an 11% increase in the number of deaths in the region, with one reliable projection expecting 236,000 deaths in Europe by December 1,” Hans Kluge told a press conference.
The reason for this development is the highly contagious Delta variant, which is confirmed to be present in fifty countries in the region, as well as the easing of restrictions and a surge in travel in the summer season, the official explained.
“We now have 64 million confirmed cases and 1.3 million deaths [Europe], 33 member states report a greater than 10% increase in 14-day case incidence. This high transmission is deeply worrying, particularly in light of low vaccination uptake in priority populations in a number of countries,” Kluge added.
Over 76% of the EU/EEA population have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
