The World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe on Thursday said it was seeing an 'explosion' of coronavirus cases in the region and warned of a 'tough time' ahead as mortality rates rose.
WHO Europe spans 53 countries, including Russia and countries in Central Asia, and on Thursday reported a total of over 12 million cases in the region, with nearly two million in the last seven days. COPENHAGEN -- The World Health Organization in Europe on Thursday said it was seeing an "explosion" of coronavirus cases in the region and warned of a "tough time" ahead as mortality rates rose.
Kluge, who was wearing a mask even as he was interviewed over a webcam meeting, also said the mortality rate could be seen rising "little by little."In spite of the rapidly rising cases, Kluge cautioned that closing schools should be seen as a last resort, especially in light of there being "no reasons to say that schools are a main driver of the transmission.
Kluge stressed that governments should take into account two things: "coherence, so people see that we don't flip-flop, and... predictability, so people know if this threshold is being reached, this is what is going to happen.""With general mask wearing and strict control of social gatherings we can save 266,000 lives by February in the whole European region," Kluge said.