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WHO Europe director Hans Kluge mentioned the respite was “a ceasefire that might carry us enduring peace”.
“This context leaves us with the likelihood for a protracted interval of tranquility,” he instructed reporters Thursday.
Widespread immunity from vaccines and infections, mixed with the change of season, additionally places Europe in a greater place to fend off any resurgence in transmission he mentioned.
“Even with a extra virulent variant” than Omicron, Kluge mentioned.
“It’s doable to reply to new variants that can inevitably emerge — with out re-installing the type of disruptive measures we wanted earlier than”, Kluge mentioned.
This was “to not say that (the pandemic) is now throughout”, however “there’s a singular alternative to take management of the transmission”, he pressured.
He cautioned that the optimistic situation would solely maintain true if international locations continued their vaccination campaigns and intensified surveillance to detect new variants.
He additionally urged well being authorities to guard danger teams and to advertise particular person duty, reminiscent of social distancing and masks sporting.
Knock-on impact
With the extra contagious Omicron variant in circulation, infections have surged throughout the WHO’s European area, which contains 53 international locations, together with some in central Asia.
Some 12 million new circumstances have been registered final week within the area, in keeping with the WHO, the best stage for the reason that begin of the pandemic.
However confronted with a decrease stage of hospitalisations than in earlier waves, a number of European international locations, together with France, Eire and the UK, have introduced the lifting or a substantial discount of restrictions, regardless of report or very excessive circumstances.
Denmark on Tuesday turned the primary European Union nation to carry its home Covid-19 restrictions, adopted later within the day by Norway.
Talking on the eve of World Most cancers Day, Kluge additionally expressed concern over the “catastrophic impression” the pandemic has had on most cancers care world wide.
Within the final three months of 2021, most cancers screenings and coverings have been disrupted by 5 to 50 p.c in all international locations surveyed, he mentioned.
“The state of affairs has improved for the reason that first quarter of final yr,” he mentioned.
“However the knock-on impact of this disruption might be felt for years.”
He urged Europe’s healthcare authorities to make the most of the anticipated seasonal Covid lull to scale back backlogs in continual care companies.
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