International Epidemic:
Many European countries relax epidemic prevention and WHO officials worry about unblocking too early
In view of "the situation of the new crown epidemic has gradually improved and the pressure on the medical and health system has eased" recently, many European countries such as Belgium, Portugal, Germany, and the Netherlands have begun or are preparing to further relax epidemic prevention restrictions.
At the same time, the World Health Organization's regional office for Europe warned that some European countries are worrying about the premature lifting of the lockdown, stressing that vaccination is still the best way to prevent severe illness and death in the European region.
According to data released by the Belgian National Institute of Public Health on the 18th, in the week from February 8 to 14, the country had an average of 12,931 new confirmed cases of new crowns per day, down 44% from the previous week.
The number of new COVID-19 hospitalizations and severe cases decreased by 17% and 13%, respectively, from the previous week.
According to the new crown epidemic data released by the Netherlands National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, in the week ending on the 13th, there were 482,695 new confirmed cases in the country, a decrease of 22% from the previous week; new hospitalized cases and severe cases were respectively compared with the previous week. Reduced by 18% and 28%.
In addition, according to official data, the new crown epidemic in Finland has stabilized in the past few weeks; the number of daily new crown confirmed cases in Romania has declined steadily in the past 10 days.
Based on the assessment of the "relative slowdown" of the epidemic, the Belgian epidemic control warning was lowered from the highest level "red code" to "orange code" on the 18th. The control measures have been further relaxed, and working from home is no longer a mandatory requirement.
The Portuguese government announced on the 17th that it will drop some epidemic prevention restrictions from the "disaster state" of the epidemic to "alert state" from now on.
The German federal government and state governments reached an agreement on the 16th to relax their own anti-epidemic measures in three steps, but stressed that basic anti-epidemic measures such as wearing masks indoors and maintaining social distance will not be cancelled.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said not long ago that he plans to end all remaining epidemic prevention restrictions in England in late February, including the self-isolation of people who test positive for the new crown virus.
Other European countries that have eased control or are preparing to lift the ban include the Netherlands, Austria, and Malta.
Covid-19 remains a "lethal" virus that has now killed more than 1.8 million people in the WHO European region.
In view of the genetic diversity of the new coronavirus and the uncertainty of the new crown epidemic, the WHO and some European officials have emphasized the importance of adhering to personal protection when gradually relaxing epidemic prevention measures, and preparing for a possible rebound of the epidemic.
Warning: Don't relax epidemic prevention measures too soon
Kluge, director of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, warned in a statement on the 15th that some European countries with relatively low vaccination rates for the new crown should not blindly follow countries with higher vaccination rates and relax epidemic prevention measures prematurely.
Kluge said that the current Omicron mutant strain is spreading from west to east in Europe, and it spreads superimposed with the delta mutant strain that is still raging in eastern Europe. The premature unblocking is worrying.
This article/Xinhua News Agency