Despite a discouraging health thermometer, the European branch of the World Health Organization believes that the Covid-19 pandemic could soon experience its ” game over ” on the continent.
With our correspondent in Geneva, Jeremiah Lance
WHO Europe Director Hans Kluge predicts for the continent a ” long period of tranquility ” in the next weeks. And this despite the 22% of positive tests detected each day. Despite also hospitalizations still on the rise. Finally, despite the warning of the boss of the organization Tedros Ghebreyesus on the use of the expression ” game over “.
Hans Kluge, however, does not hesitate to use it. ” There is no contradiction, he argues. We just have a unique situation in Europe. And this for two reasons, according to him: when the Omicron wave recedes, Europe will have acquired a broad immunity, whether by infection or vaccination; the continent will also come out of winter. ” And then we know that Omicron causes milder symptoms in people vaccinated two or three times “, he continues.
The situation would even be sufficiently favorable for Europe to be spared from further restrictive measures, says Hans Kluge. Even in case ofappearance of a new variant.
This optimism contrasts with the Sioux caution displayed by WHO headquarters. One of its officials deplored a few days ago the sheepish behavior of certain States which decided to imitate their neighbors by lifting all sanitary measures. Europe recorded 12 million new cases of Covid-19 last week. A record since the start of the crisis two years ago.
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