Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    World
    Home / World / Europe

    COVID-19 Delta variant grips Europe but low hospitalization rates offer hope

    Xinhua | Updated: 2021-08-04 09:31
    Share
    Share - WeChat
    A woman, wearing a mask, rides her bicycle near the Eiffel tower at Trocadero square in Paris, on April 26, 2021. [Photo/Agencies]

    ROME -- The recent spike in coronavirus infections across Europe has surprised healthcare analysts as it occurred earlier than expected, but they agree that the relatively low hospitalization rates offer hope that the newest wave of the pandemic can be kept under control.

    The number of COVID-19 cases in the WHO (World Health Organization) European Region has passed the milestone of 60 million since the pandemic began, new data from WHO/Europe showed on Monday.

    According to government data collected by odometer, last week alone, some 125,000 new COVID-19 cases were detected per day in Europe. Globally, COVID-19 infections topped 200 million on Tuesday.

    Almost all the cases in Europe are now caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant of coronavirus, which was first detected in India. According to media reports, the average daily infection rate in France has increased by more than a third over the past three weeks, and in Spain the increase is 15 percent. Switzerland just registered its highest single-day jump in new COVID-19 cases since May. Iceland's infection rate has hit record high, and the respective figures in Finland, Greece and Russia -- are approaching 80 percent of the all-time peaks.

    "It's not a surprise that we're seeing a new spike in infections," Matteo Bassetti, director of the infectious diseases section at San Martino Hospital in Italy's coastal city of Genoa, told Xinhua. "What is a surprise is that we are seeing these increases in July. We expected them in August or September when people return from vacation and schools reopen."

    Still, according to Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and research director at the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Europe can afford to see how the newest wave of the pandemic develops before taking major steps.

    McKee told Xinhua that while the pandemic has shown that it is better to act early than late, healthcare systems have generally proved that they can properly care for those infected, helped by increasing the number of vaccinated individuals. Evidence shows that vaccinated people can still be infected with the Delta variant, but at a far lower rate and with far less severe consequences than those who have not been vaccinated. Medical therapies for those hospitalized with coronavirus infection have also improved, McKee said.

    "At this level, what we are seeing is a worrying trend but one that remains manageable," he said.

    According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), more than 70 percent of European Economic Area (EEA) residents aged 18 or older have received at least one vaccine dose and over 50 percent of the same group have been fully vaccinated.

    Bassetti agreed with McKee's level of concern. He said that while the early arrival of the Delta-related wave of infections in Europe is worrying, there are too many variables to sound the alarm bells.

    "I am encouraged by the fact that on average only around 0.1 percent of the people in intensive care units have been vaccinated," he said. "I would start to worry if that figure rose to 0.5 percent or 1.0 percent because that would mean the variant is learning to make vaccinated people very ill. Until that happens, we should look at the pandemic as a serious threat that is mostly under control."

    Most Viewed in 24 Hours
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    无码专区中文字幕无码| 亚洲精品欧美二区三区中文字幕| 一本大道香蕉中文日本不卡高清二区| 午夜福利无码不卡在线观看 | 一本一道色欲综合网中文字幕| 久久精品中文字幕无码绿巨人| 日韩精品无码免费专区午夜 | 亚洲AV无码专区在线播放中文 | 亚洲精品无码永久中文字幕| 亚洲精品中文字幕无码蜜桃| 国产精品无码免费播放| 一本色道无码道在线观看| 中文字幕视频一区| 永久免费无码网站在线观看个| 久久久久成人精品无码中文字幕| 亚洲中文字幕无码永久在线| 中文字幕av高清有码| 午夜不卡无码中文字幕影院| 亚洲成a人在线看天堂无码| 精品无码人妻一区二区免费蜜桃| 国产AⅤ无码专区亚洲AV| 最近完整中文字幕2019电影| 中文字幕无码精品三级在线电影 | 在线精品无码字幕无码AV| 中文字幕在线观看| 日本免费中文字幕| 人妻少妇精品中文字幕AV| AV色欲无码人妻中文字幕| 色欲香天天综合网无码| 亚洲AV无码一区二区三区国产 | 亚洲无码视频在线| 亚洲成在人线在线播放无码| 无码人妻少妇久久中文字幕| 精品久久久久久无码人妻蜜桃| 97性无码区免费| 精品无码人妻久久久久久| 毛片免费全部无码播放| 亚洲AV无码成H人在线观看| 人妻丰满?V无码久久不卡| 亚洲AV无码乱码在线观看牲色| 日韩视频无码日韩视频又2021|