Europe is facing a difficult winter and the total number of deaths from Covid could hit two million by March 2022, the World Health Organization has warned.
Last week, total reported deaths in WHO’s European region, which also covers central Asia, passed the 1.5 million mark, and the number of daily deaths increased to close to 4,200 a day – doubling from 2,100 at the end of September.
As of today, Covid-19 is the number one cause of death across the region.
Hospital beds in 25 countries will experience high or extreme stress, and in 49 countries intensive care units will also experience high or extreme stress, the agency said.
Some countries are already moving patients to other countries due to a lack of intensive care beds – last week, Germany transferred a patient to Italy for Covid treatment.
Dr Hans Kluge, director of the WHO’s Europe office, warned the situation across Europe is “very serious” and European countries “face a difficult winter ahead”.
On Tuesday, France’s Covid infection rate hit the highest level since summer, and Dutch infections hit a new weekly record, climbing 39 per cent on the previous week. Germany, Austria, Spain, Slovenia and Poland also saw a surge in cases.
