According to the data of the World Health Organization, as of 16:22 central European time (23:22 Beijing time) on the 9th, there have been nearly 20.87 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Europe. Public health experts have called for caution until mass vaccinations are launched, especially when Christmas and New Year holidays are approaching, and if vigilance is relaxed, they are likely to face a third wave of epidemics.
The second wave of epidemics is under control, but the risk of virus transmission is still there.
Although the second wave of epidemic in Europe is basically under control, the situation is still not optimistic. According to the statistics of the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention on the 9th, the highest cumulative number of confirmed cases in Europe is 2.515 million in Russia, followed by 2.31 million in France, followed by Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain, all with more than 1.7 million.
French President Macron said in November that if the number of new confirmed cases per day drops below 5,000, the “foot ban” will be lifted from December 15.
However, in the past week, most of the new cases in France have exceeded 10,000 per day. Prime Minister Castel and Health Minister Verang recently expressed pessimism about the lifting of the ban on the 15th.
More than 20 million cases have been confirmed in Europe
Italy added 12,756 new confirmed cases and 499 new deaths on the 9th, the first time since December that the number of deaths in a single day has dropped to less than 500.
Experts say that the second peak of the epidemic in Italy has passed, and the number of new confirmed cases, intensive care and deaths has slowly declined, but this is not worth “complacency”.
This round of epidemic rebound has hit Central and Eastern European countries hard. Croatia, with a population of only more than 4 million, added 4,520 confirmed cases on the 9th, ranking second highest infection rate in the European Union in two weeks, after Luxembourg. Bulgaria added 3,980 new cases and 146 new deaths on the 9th.
In the past two weeks, the mortality rate has reached 27.7 per 100,000 people, ranking second in the European Union, second only to Slovenia’s 28.7 cases per 100,000 people. It is understood that the use of beds in Bulgaria is nearly saturated.
Fearing to make the same mistake, many countries have introduced Christmas season epidemic prevention plans.
EU officials admitted that the EU’s “uncancement” this summer was too rash, leading to a fierce rebound in the second wave of the epidemic in autumn and winter.
Now that the epidemic has been basically under control, the European Commission recommends vigilance to avoid repeating the same mistake. According to the latest EU epidemic prevention strategy, the Christmas season should continue to maintain social distancing, reduce social interaction, strengthen testing and case tracking, and strengthen psychological counseling. “This year, saving lives is a priority over celebrating festivals,” said Kiriakidis, the European Commission’s Commissioner for Health and Food Safety.
Crisanti, director of the Institute of Microbiology of the University of Padua in Italy, said that how to effectively control the spread of the virus during Christmas and New Year holidays is the next major challenge. Com, director of the infectious diseases department of Charitable Hospital Salpettier in France, said on the 7th that if the epidemic prevention is not paid attention to during the festival, France may face a third wave of epidemics in mid-January next year.
Many countries announced holiday epidemic prevention plans: Spain temporarily raised the maximum number of people to 10 people on Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day from 6 to 10, but the gathering must end before 1.30 a.m.; the German Academy of Sciences recommended on the 8th that public life be suspended from December 24 to January 10 next year, implementing the so-called “Hard lockdown”, holiday should avoid travel and meet only the closest fixed population; Dutch Prime Minister Lütte announced on the 8th that some lockdown measures will be extended to mid-January next year, with up to three home visitors, advising people to celebrate Christmas at home; Luxembourg Prime Minister Bertel announced on the 9th that restaurants and cafes will remain closed. Until January 15 next year.
Mass vaccination is still in time.
The United Kingdom began to vaccinate people with the coronavirus vaccine developed by German biotechnology company Pfizer Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in cooperation with the United States on the 8th.
However, NHS England CEO Simon Stevens warned that now is only the first step. People should not relax their vigilance and still comply with epidemic prevention requirements until a large supply of vaccines are achieved.
Many countries have issued holiday epidemic prevention plans.
On the European continent, the European Drug Administration is evaluating several coronavirus vaccines, including the above vaccines. It is expected to release the results of the two vaccines on December 29 and January 12 next year.
After that, the European Commission will approve the qualified vaccines to be listed in the EU conditionally in accordance with the recommendations of FDA. At the same time, France, Belgium and many other EU countries plan to start phased vaccinations for people in January next year.
Georgice, chairman of the Romanian National Vaccine Coordination Committee, said recently that the storage of vaccines ordered by Romania needs to meet special conditions such as minus 70 to 80 degrees Celsius.
Therefore, the storage center will be located at the Canta Kuzino Institute for Medical Development, with the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Health jointly responsible for vaccine safety.
WHO Director-General Tedros Tedros said on the 7th that as countries plan to launch vaccines in the coming weeks and months, he urged them to prioritize vaccination for those who need them most in accordance with the framework and road map issued by the WHO Advisory Expert Group on Immunization Strategy.
