WHO warns EU could see additional 700,000 COVID-19 deaths by next March

WHO "유럽 내년 3월까지 코로나19로 70만 명 추가 사망 가능성"

The WHO warns, Europe may see the number of COVID-19 deaths spike by next March.
Meanwhile, Germany and the Netherlands are about to announce new restrictions.
Kim Cheong-ah has the latest from across the globe.

The World Health Organization has warned that Europe may see an additional 700-thousand COVID-19 deaths by next March, in addition to the current figure of 1-point-5 million.
It has also said it expects high or extreme stress in intensive care units in 49 out of its 53 member countries between now and March.

The forecast is attributed to sluggish vaccine campaigns in some countries, the highly contagious Delta variant, and the colder weather which is moving people indoors.
The easing of social distancing measures is also a factor.

While the whole bloc has... on average... a rate of 67-percent fully vaccinated, the number varies widely between countries.
Many eastern European nations are much lower…like Bulgaria which only has 24 percent of its population fully vaccinated.

Also a concern is that COVID-19-related deaths doubled last week from two weeks ago.
The WHO has said there was growing evidence that vaccine protection was waning. With that, EU ministers met Tuesday to discuss the need for booster shots.

Michael Roth, German Minister of State for Europe:
"The developments of the pandemic in the European Union (and) worldwide are still dramatic. One thing is clear, vaccinations save lives. But the vaccination quota in too many member states of the European Union, unfortunately also in Germany, is too low. So now is the time to finally talk about it."

The WHO also said that over 160-thousand deaths could be prevented between now and March next year if universal mask coverage of 95 percent is achieved.
However, the prospect of a winter under renewed restrictions has sparked unrest in several countries including Belgium and the Netherlands... leading to violent protests.

Meanwhile, despite the fear, the BBC cited several reasons for the UK being able to weather the virus this winter, including the amount of immunity the country has built up from a good vaccine rollout and natural immunity.
Kim Cheong-ah, Arirang News.

#COVID19 #WHO #infection

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2021-11-24, 22:00 (KST)