The World Health Organization expects high levels of "Corona" this summer in Europe

The World Health Organization said Thursday it expects "high levels" of "Covid-19" this summer in Europe and called for close monitoring of the virus, after the number of daily cases tripled in a month.

"With countries across Europe lifting the social measures that were imposed, the virus will spread at high levels during the summer," said Hans Kluge, director of the organization's European branch.

"The virus will not go away just because countries stop monitoring it," he said in a written statement to AFP. "It continues to infect individuals, continues to mutate, and is still deadly."

As a result of the sub-mutant Omicron BA.5, the number of cases in the fifty countries of the European region of the World Health Organization approached 500 thousand per day this week, after it was about 150 thousand per day at the end of May, according to the organization’s general data.

After recording about four to five thousand deaths per day during a large part of the winter, the number of deaths currently remains at a low level of about 500, the level recorded in the summer of 2020.

Almost all European countries are recording an increase in the number of cases, with the largest number of infections detected in Portugal, Luxembourg, France, Greece, Cyprus, Germany and Austria.

"We hope that the intensive vaccination programs implemented by most member states, in addition to previous infections, will avoid the most serious consequences that we have previously seen with the outbreak of the pandemic," Kluge said.

"However, our recommendations remain valid," he added.

And the World Health Organization called on Europeans to continue to isolate themselves if they develop respiratory symptoms, to ensure that their vaccines are renewed, and to put masks in crowded places.

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