Europe forced to tighten restrictions

STOCKHOLM, Sweden－A rapid and steady increase of new COVID-19 cases and deaths across Europe has dragged the continent back to the pandemic epicenter once again following its initial peak in April.

In the first week of this month, Europe reported almost 2 million new infections, the largest weekly case count in the continent since the start of the pandemic, and it registered almost 27,000 COVID-19-related deaths, more than half of all COVID-19 deaths worldwide, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

Some European countries have been forced to announce new measures to push for more vaccinations and reimpose social restrictions.

Among countries with some of the highest numbers of registered daily cases in Europe, Germany recorded 50,196 new infections on Thursday, the highest daily rise since the pandemic started; it recorded 48,640 new cases on Friday.

Three German state health ministers urged parties negotiating to form a new government to prolong states' power to implement stricter pandemic measures such as lockdowns or school closures as the country's seven-day incidence rate reached record highs.

The number of people per 100,000 infected last week rose to 277.4, the Robert Koch Institute said, and has risen to more than 500 in some regions of the country.

The head of Marburger Bund, the country's largest doctors association, told the German media group Funke Mediengruppe that overburdened intensive care units may need to move patients between regions to find beds in coming weeks.

On Friday, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson said "storm clouds gathering over Europe "could be seen in Britain, and he urged people to get booster shots soon, as the country registered 39,325 new cases in 24 hours.

Even though there are many doses to go around in the continent, vaccine uptake has yet to reach a satisfactory level, amid the vaccine disparity between Eastern and Western Europe.

Vaccine disparity

Experts said the insufficient vaccinations in parts of the continent and waning immunity among groups that were vaccinated earlier is likely to have contributed to the recurrence. They called for a rapid booster program, especially for older people and other vulnerable groups.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron called on the 6 million nonvaccinated to get vaccinated to "be able to live normally".

In Norway, about 70 percent of whose population is fully vaccinated, the government announced an expansion of booster shots to those aged 18 and older in response to the worsening situation in the country; previously only those 65 and older qualified.

Switzerland's President Guy Parmelin recently renewed calls for citizens to do their bit to fight the pandemic in the interest of the country, saying the vaccination rate remained too low to lift restrictions as infections continue rising.

However in Bulgaria, only about 23 percent of people are vaccinated, and in Romania the figure is 35 percent; in Bosnia and Herzegovina the figure is 21 percent.

Xinhua - Agencies