TEHRAN – The World Health Organization (WHO) is “very worried” about the spread of Covid in Europe as cases and deaths have surged ahead of the winter season.

Some half a million more people could die in Europe from COVID-19 by March in the absence of urgent action, the World Health Organization warns.

The WHO’s Europe director, Dr Hans Kluge sounded the warning on Saturday, saying he was very worried about a fresh wave of infections that had spread across the continent and led countries to announce new restrictions.
He said the winter season, along with the dominance of the more transmissible Delta variant, had raised the threat level, added to the fact that too many people are susceptible to the virus through being unvaccinated or having lost protection as a result of the length of time since their last jab.

He called for more public health measures to be implemented amid the situation.

“COVID-19 has become once again the number one cause of mortality in our region,” he said. 

Explaining the rise in infections, Kluge considered such factors as the winter season and low vaccination rates to be responsible. 

“We know what needs to be done” to fight the disease, he, however, added.

Kluge called for wider vaccination coverage, basic public health measures to be implemented, and new treatments to be developed.

The official still considered mandatory vaccination to be a last-ditch solution.

No earlier than on Thursday, Kluge had cautioned that transmission rates in 53 European countries were of "grave concern" and new cases were nearing record levels, exacerbated by the more transmissible Delta variant of the virus.

The region saw a six percent increase in new cases last week of nearly 1.8 million new cases, compared to the week before. The number of deaths rose 12 percent in the same period.