Covid-19 Threatens Europe Again

The Coronavirus (Covid-19) came again to spread in Europe and threaten the continent, turning it into the epicentre of the pandemic, which began its fourth wave weeks ago, with record infection increases in some countries.

The World Health Organization attributed this rise to the insufficient vaccination supplies and the easing of measures to combat Covid-19, as some European countries are witnessing a remarkable hike in the number of cases, especially in Germany and UK, which prompted them to take new measures to confront any possible surge in deaths.

In Berlin, the German government said it is going through a “difficult stage” in combating the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, amid unprecedented record increases since the outbreak of the virus in early 2020.

The Robert Koch Institute (PKI), which monitors the outbreak of the virus in the country, said in a recent statement that a total of 37,120 new infections were registered in a fresh daily record number.

On November 8, the PKI announced that 201 infections were recorded for every 100,000 citizens per day during the previous day, as German hospitals recorded 15,513 new infections and 33 deaths on that day, with no figures available from some hospitals during the weekend.

This allowed the total infections to reach 4,782,546 with 96,558 deaths since the outbreak of the epidemic, it added.

The specialized authorities there issued warnings of easing protective measures to encounter the virus, which has largely re-spread in the past weeks in Germany and other European countries. German Minister of Health Jens Young recommended receiving a third (booster) dose of anti- epidemic vaccines for all vaccinated citizens, six months following the second dose, especially for elderly aged 60 and above, as well as workers at care and health facilities.

On the other hand, the health authorities in UK announced on November 4, the adoption of the first drug in the world (molenpiravir) to treat the symptoms of Covid-19. This medication allows treating infected people before their symptoms develop and their conditions worsen.

This drug, according to what was confirmed by the American manufacturer (Merck), named in UK as (MSD), in cooperation with the American company (Ridgeback Biotherapeutics), also targets and disrupts one of the virus’ enzymes that allows it to copy itself, which makes it also effective against all variants.

In Austria, the Ministry of Health said that on November 6, a total of 9,943 new Covid-19 infections were registered the previous day, in addition to 31 deaths, in a daily record number since the emergence of the pandemic.

The Austrian government said that it had decided to take a series of measures to combat the spread of the virus, including denying unvaccinated people access to public places, restaurants, cafes, hair salons, tourist facilities and others.

As for other European countries, the infection rate may be less severe, as for instance the Italian health authorities registered slight increases in the daily infection and death rates in comparison to the previous period.

The same thing applies to other European countries, including Spain, which recorded daily infection rates that are not alarming, at a time when the health authorities there allowed clinical trials of a vaccine developed by the Spanish company (Hebra) against Covid-19. A comparison will be conducted between this vaccine and two other vaccines licensed in the European Union (EU).

Meanwhile, WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge warned in a press conference that despite the varying infection rates in European countries, the increase in infections at their current pace was alarming.

 

SOURCE   :    TIMES KUWAIT 

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