WHO/EuropeПодлинная учетная запись

There have now been over 15.7 million #COVID19 cases and nearly 355,000 deaths reported to @WHO, with over 4 million more cases in November alone, in the WHO European Region. Europe accounts for 28% of global cases and 26% of deaths, cumulatively. @hans_kluge

In the Region, over 80% of countries are reporting elevated 14-day incidence (greater than 100 per 100,000 population) with nearly a third reporting very high 14-days incidence rates more than 700 per 100,000 population. @hans_kluge

As a result, we are seeing increasing signals related to overwhelmed health systems, with reports that in France, for example, intensive care wards have been at over 95 per cent capacity for 10 days and in Switzerland intensive care units are at full capacity. @hans_kluge

Outbreaks in schools, long-term care settings, and gatherings are also reported. @hans_kluge

In the past 2 weeks, COVID-19 deaths have increased by 18 per cent. Last week, Europe registered over 29,000 new COVID-19 deaths. That’s one person dying every 17 seconds in the European Region from COVID-19. @hans_kluge

I would like to emphasize that every time we choose to follow guidance, stop the spread of misinformation, address denial, we contribute to preventing lives lost due to #COVID19. Right now, an average of 4,500 lives are lost to #COVID19 in Europe every day. This is avoidable.

If we all act, & those most privileged of us make an extra effort, we can make an impact. Thanks to your adherence to risk reducing behaviour, new weekly cases of #COVID19 decreased from over 2 million the week before last to approximately 1.8 million cases last week @hans_kluge

It’s a small signal, but it’s a signal nevertheless. Those of you with the strength and ability to do so, I urge you to continue and step-up to the challenge our society and way of life is faced with. @hans_kluge

Your country, community, family and friends need you like they have never needed you before. Health and social workers, whom we rely upon to help protect our senior members of society, are under immense pressure. @hans_kluge

They, and their families, are making huge sacrifices. They need you like never before, to act responsibly and to support them through the tough season ahead. In you all, I firmly believe that there is more hope ahead of us than despair behind us. @hans_kluge

Three points today: if we all do our share, lockdowns are avoidable. I stand by my position that “lockdowns” are last resort measure. @hans_kluge

Mask use is by no means a panacea, and needs to be done in combination with other measures, however, if mask use reached 95%, “lockdowns” would not be needed. But, at 60% or lower masks use, it is hard to avoid lockdowns.@hans_kluge

We acknowledge that hundreds of millions of people are in some kind of lockdown but we learned that there is significant collateral damage associated with lockdowns including increased mental health issues, alcohol and substance abuse...

gender-based violence, essential service disruption and a need for improved economic support for the people affected, including those people who lose their jobs. @hans_kluge

We are aware of the technical and the political difficulties to resort to such measures. Too often we have seen the negative impact of “easing too quickly” following an understandable will from policy makers to free the public from periods of stringency. @hans_kluge

Too often as well, we have also seen how much these short political gains are quickly offset by the devasting impact of having to re-install mandates shortly after they are eased. @hans_kluge

I am encouraging a tier system based on levels of seriousness in community transmission, with a set of proportionate measures that could be considered under each one of them. @hans_kluge

This can better situate government’s actions along a gradient of severity that can go both ways without ever stalling. @hans_kluge

technologies and pharmaceutical developments are offering us a new horizon. While vaccines won’t stop #COVID19 entirely, and don’t answer all our questions, they do represent a great hope in the war against this virus. @hans_kluge

In the last few days we have received good news with two particularly promising vaccines... @hans_kluge

... however, this promise will never be realized unless we assure all countries have access to the vaccine market, that it is delivered equitably, that it is effectively deployed and countries address pockets of vaccine hesitancy. @hans_kluge

It’s also essential that we draw on the technologies already at our disposal, protecting our elderly and vulnerable with seasonal influenza and pneumococcal vaccines, for example. @hans_kluge

Furthermore, a reconfiguration of testing policies, for contact tracing isolation of cases and suspected cases, identification of super-spreader events & monitoring of high-risk situations through targeted testing & surveillance offers great returns on mitigating transmission.

Here, our testing strategies need to be recalibrated to manage the largest bulk of transmission, to track cases, quarantine contacts and isolate asymptomatic or mild cases. @hans_kluge

The recent scientific developments in rapid diagnostic tests (the antigen tests) also provide a valuable option to shift the locus of the pandemic battle from the hospital to the households, the points of care, the community. To put the people in the centre. @hans_kluge

looking ahead, we must ensure safe learning for our children and make sure they enjoy the festive season. @hans_kluge

We possess a wealth of country practices on how to go after the virus without going after the people. We have been able to ensure safe learning for our children by keeping the vast majority of schools open for almost 100 consecutive days. @hans_kluge