The number of weekly coronavirus cases reported in Europe has increased for the first time in months, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Hans Kluge, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, said the continent continues to report nearly 20,000 new cases and over 700 new deaths daily as he warned that the resurgence could lead to extreme pressure on healthcare systems in some countries.
Speaking as countries across Europe continue to lift lockdown measures, Mr Kluge said: “Thirty countries have seen increases in new cumulative cases over the past two weeks.
“In 11 of these countries, accelerated transmission has led to very significant resurgence that, if left unchecked, will push health systems to the brink once again in Europe.”
Mr Kluge pointed to Poland, Germany and Spain as countries where fresh outbreaks have been quickly met with effective responses.
Germany expanded a local lockdown to cover hundreds of thousands of people in North-Rhine Westphalia on Tuesday after a large outbreak in a slaughterhouse.
“Where new clusters of cases appeared, these have been controlled through rapid and targeted interventions,” Mr Kluge said.
Europe has seen more than 2.5 million cases of Covid-19 since the outbreak began, according to the latest WHO figures.
