Europe Bows Under Second Virus Wave, Tightens Curbs

WHO Urges govts to step up efforts with cases hitting over 1L daily

- Mark Landler

From France to Britain to the Czech Republic, Euro-pean leaders are confronting a surge in coronavirus cases that is rapidly filling hospital beds, driving up death tolls, and raising the grim prospect of further lockdowns in countries already traumatized by the pandemic. The continent, which once compared favorably to the US in its handling of the pandemic, is being engulfed by the second wave of infection. With an average of over 1,00,000 new infections per day over the past week, Europe now accounts for about one-third of new cases reported worldwide. The region has just registered the highest weekly incidence of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with almost 700,000 cases reported.

Urging governments to “step up” swiftly to contain in a second wave of the pandemic, the WHO’s European director Hans Kluge said the current situation was, “more than ever, pandemic times for Europe”. “The fall (autumn) and winter surge continue to unfold in Europe, with exponential increases in daily cases and matching percentage increases in daily deaths,” Kluge told an online media briefing. “It’s time to step up. The message to governments is: don’t hold back with relatively small actions to avoid the painful damaging actions we saw in the first round (in March and April).”