WHO Regional Director Concerned Over Currently Seen COVID-19 Surge In Europe

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2020) World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge expressed on Thursday concerns over the COVID-19 surge in Europe, noting that weekly cases now exceeded those reported during the March peak of the pandemic, which should serve as a "wake-up call."

"We do have a very serious situation unfolding before us. Weekly cases have now exceeded those reported when the pandemic first peaked in Europe in March," Kluge said at a briefing.

"Last week, the region's weekly tally exceeded 300,000 patients. More than half of European countries have reported a greater than 10-percent increase in cases in the past two weeks.

Of those, seven countries have seen newly reported cases increase more than two-fold in the same period," Kluge added.

The WHO official noted that Europe's stringent public health measures paid off, with June COVID cases hitting all-time low.

"The September case numbers, however, should serve as a wake-up call for all of us. Although these numbers reflect more comprehensive testing, it also shows alarming rates of transmission across the region," Kluge warned.