More than half of Europe could catch Covid-19 in two months, WHO expert warns

Record Covid-19 cases have put Europe under increased pressure this winter, with some countries scaling up restrictions and others, like Austria, Greece and Italy, announcing new He called on countries not yet affected by the surge “to mandate the use of high quality masks in closed and indoor settings and ensure that vulnerable individuals have access to them” due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant. He explained that Europe has yet to see the full impact of the variant in countries “where levels of vaccination uptake are lower,” and he is “deeply concerned” about Omicron surging into eastern Europe where “we will see more severe disease in the unvaccinated.” Eastern European countries have some of the lowest vaccination rates in the region despite an abundance of shots, according to data from the But he stressed that “keeping schools open has important benefits for children’s mental, social and educational well-being,” recommending that arrangements should be made for “online learning alongside physical presence, so children can continue with their education when they are unable to attend school in person.” He reiterated WHO’s recommendations for educational settings: ventilation, hand hygiene and the use of appropriate face masks.Kluge added that “countries may wish to consider reviewing the protocols on testing, isolation and quarantine of classroom contacts to minimize disruption to learning, mitigating these risks as far as possible with good ventilation and mask usage.”CNN’s John Bonifield contributed to this report.