The World Health Organization (WHO) alerted this Tuesday, November 23, to the fact that the Covid-19 epidemic in Europe could lead to 700,000 additional deaths on the continent, bringing the total number of deaths to 2, 2 million by the spring.
“Hospital beds can be expected to be under high or extreme pressure in 25 countries and high or extreme pressure in intensive care units in 49 out of 53 countries by March 1, 2022 “WHO said in a statement.
“Cumulative reported deaths are expected to reach over 2.2 million by next spring (up from 1.5 million currently), based on current trends,” the organization said.
For the WHO, the increase in cases is explained by the combination the prevalence of Delta variant highly contagious, of a insufficient vaccination coverage andrelaxation of measures anti-Covid.
Wearing a mask could prevent 160,000 deaths
According to his data, Covid-related deaths have more than doubled since the end of September, from 2,100 per day to nearly 4,200 dailies.
According to the WHO, wearing a mask reduces the incidence of the disease by 53%. A generalization of its use up to 95% could prevent more than 160,000 deaths by March 1.