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DIRECTOR of the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe Dr Hans Kluge said the European continent would soon enter a period of calm in the COVID-19 pandemic. High vaccination rate, late winter and less severe nature of the Omicron variant.
“This period of higher protection should be seen as a ‘truce’ or a start to peace that can bring us lasting peace. It came as a number of European countries ended COVID-19 containment rules,” Dr Kluge said, quoted by BBC News.
Dr Kluge said around 12 million cases of the new virus were detected across Europe last week, which is a record high, but there has not been a significant spike for critical hospital care. Denmark became the first country in the European Union to lift all regulations, including the use of face masks, earlier this week.
While cases are still relatively high there, authorities say the virus no longer qualifies as a “critical threat” with high vaccination rates helping protect against serious illness despite Omicron’s rapid spread.
Norway has since announced its own relaxation, and Sweden announced on Thursday that it will also lift nearly all of its own domestic restrictions by February 9.
“The pandemic is not over, but we are entering a completely new phase,” Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told reporters.
Officials there vowed to stay vigilant against the virus, with some guidelines still in place, such as staying home if you have symptoms of COVID-19. People who are not vaccinated are also urged to avoid crowds, and some border entry restrictions are still in place.
WHO’s Dr Kluge previously urged European countries to continue their campaigns for vaccination and surveillance of new strains of the coronavirus. But most of all, he talked about how to come to terms with COVID-19. But he said he believed the continent would be in a better position even with a more lethal variant than the Omicron.
“I believe that it is possible to respond to new variants that are bound to emerge without reinstalling the kind of disruptive actions we needed previously,” added Dr Kluge.
He urged individual responsibility, further protection of at-risk groups and what he described as a drastic and uncompromising increase in vaccine sharing across borders to help protect worldwide. The easing of restrictions across Europe follows similar decisions in the UK and other UK countries in January. [sources/ photo special]
