The World Health Organization issues an alert for an increase in Coronavirus cases in Europe – Europe – globally

WHO Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, Thursday warned of a “very dangerous situation” on the continent, With A weekly increase in cases of coronavirus infection is higher than that recorded in the first peak March.

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At a press conference to assess the latest data on the development of the epidemic in Europe, Cluj made this clear Last week, the registered cases in the region exceeded 300,000.

The World Health Organization called for “regional cohesion” in the face of the “alarming rates of infection” with the Coronavirus in Europe, and a coordinated action that it believes there is still room for that.

In the past two weeksMore than half of European countries recorded an increase in cases of more than 10%. And in seven of them they doubled.

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“In the spring and early summer, we were able to notice the impact of the strict restriction measures and we saw our efforts and our sacrifices flourish,” to the point of reaching the lowest number of epidemics in June, he said.

In this sense, he added, the September numbers should act as a “wake-up call.” Although the numbers are also a reflection of a greater number of tests or analyzes, Display of “alarming transmission rates across the region”, He said.

Since the start of the epidemic, Europe has recorded 4,893,614 cases of coronavirus and 226,524 deaths. He added that in addition to the numbers, “the impact on mental health, the economy, life and society is enormous.”

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For this reason, Kluge called for a “collective effort” of the 53 member states of the World Health Organization in Europe, noting that “responses are very effective, when actions are immediate and decisive.”He warned that “the virus is relentless when unofficial information and disinformation prevail.”

Wake up call

Kluge said the “hopeful message” is that there is still room to work, given that as well The death rate from the Coronavirus is now lower than what was recorded in March.

At the same time And he called to be alerted to the arrival of autumn with the wave of influenzaThe increase in the death rate among the elderly, the reopening of schools and the beginning of the school year.

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He also mentioned the situation in Spain and France, which have suffered from the strong impact of the epidemic They seem to have taken control of the situation, again reporting a marked increase in cases.

According to Cluj, The decrease in cases was not due to natural causes for the virus to develop, but due to strict measures Introduce public health, so that if the stress is thrown out, it makes sense to see an increase, he argued.

In this sense, he stressed that these countries have done a good job taking into account the circumstances, adding that in many cases the outbreak can be controlled locally, which opens the hope that no restrictions will have to be imposed at a general level, “although that will happen. It is necessary. Close posture observation. “

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On the other hand, Cluj He called for taking advantage of what is known so far about the epidemic “to implement what works and not to apply what does not.” And at the same time not to stop updating scientific knowledge.

Reducing the quarantine period

Cluj pointed out “enormous.” The individual and social impact that may have a slight decrease in the quarantine period“.

At the same time, he stressed that “the concept of quarantine must be protected, constantly adapted, clarified and communicated well without ambiguity.”

He explained that quarantine is the “cornerstone” of fighting the epidemic and that the most “conservative” accounts estimate a period of 14 days, This includes between 3 and 5 days before and 5 days after symptoms appear.

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He added that Cluj also hinted at the need to “understand people’s fears” and “empathize with their stress,” which is a “natural” response to a protracted health crisis.

Among the “key strategies” he mentioned “fragmented and adapted actions” and talked about finding ways to engage people and communities, focusing on “harm reduction” rather than closing public life again, and “acknowledging suffering and communicating hope”.

He stressed that it is about “moving from doing nothing to doing things differently, finding new ways of socializing and avoiding loneliness.”

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EFE