A World Health Organization (WHO) expert on the covid-19 pandemic issue predicts a third wave in Europe in early 2021, if European governments repeat what he said was a “failure to do what was necessary” to prevent the second wave of infections.
“They [governos europeus] did not try to build the necessary infrastructure [de combate à pandemia] during the summer months, after having put the first wave under control “, David Nabarro of the WHO said in an interview with Swiss newspapers.
“Now we have the second wave. If they do not adopt the necessary measures and infrastructure again, then we will have a third wave of the pandemic at the beginning of next year”, said Nabarro, a Briton who campaigned unsuccessfully to become WHO’s director general in 2017.
Europe experienced, during the summer months, a drop in infection rates, which are now increasing again: Germany and France on Saturday saw cases increase by 33,000 combined, Switzerland and Austria have thousands of cases daily, while Turkey reported a record 5,532 new infections
Nabarro highlighted the move from Switzerland, which relaxed restrictions to allow skiing – with required masks -, while other alpine nations, such as Austria, closed resorts. According to the WHO expert, Switzerland may reach a “very high level of illness and death” as a result.
“Once infection rates decrease, and will decrease, then we can be as free as we want“, Nabarro said to Solothurn Newspaper. “But now? Should ski resorts be opened? Under what conditions?”
Nabarro praised the response from Asian countries like South Korea, where infections are now relatively low: “People are totally committed, they take on behaviors that make the virus difficult. They keep their distance, wear masks, isolate themselves when they are sick, wash hands and surfaces. And they protect the most threatened groups. “
He also said that Asia did not relax the restrictions prematurely: “We must wait until the number of cases is low and remains low.” In other words: “Europe’s reaction was incomplete” and the restrictions were devalued very early.
In Portugal, 3 897 people died from 260 758 confirmed cases of infection, according to the most recent bulletin from the Directorate-General for Health.
The covid-19 pandemic caused at least 1,381,915 deaths resulting from more than 58.1 million cases of infection worldwide, according to a report by the French agency AFP.
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