Under the title "Terror Sweeps Europe... Germany Faces the Worst with COVID-19," Sky News reported on the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, noting that Germany recorded a record number of new COVID-19 cases, with 50,196 additional cases in a 24-hour period, indicating the severity of the wave of the pandemic affecting the country, according to the Robert Koch Institute for health monitoring. This marks the first time daily infections have exceeded fifty thousand since the beginning of the pandemic in Germany, where record numbers of cases are being documented. The number of deaths reached 235 in the last 24 hours.
On Wednesday, the German health institute recorded about 40,000 new cases, while Russian health authorities reported the highest death toll since the start of the pandemic on Tuesday, with 1,211 deaths in a single day, bringing the total number of deaths to nearly a quarter of a million.
Amidst these alarming statistics from both Russia and Germany, two of the largest countries in Europe, the World Health Organization warned that the rate of COVID-19 transmission in Europe is "very concerning" at the moment. This increase could lead to an additional half a million deaths in the continent by February.
Health experts attribute the significant rise in cases and deaths in many European countries over the past few weeks to the relatively slow vaccination processes. Official figures indicate that, for example, 70 percent of the population in Germany has received full doses of the vaccine. They point out that most patients in intensive care units are unvaccinated, and their numbers continue to rise steadily. Additionally, negligence in preventive measures like social distancing and not wearing masks has also contributed to this new wave of the pandemic looming over Europe.
In this context, the European regional director for the World Health Organization, Hans Kluge, stated: "We have once again become the epicenter of the pandemic. The current rate of infection transmission and spread in Europe is extremely concerning, and if we continue on this path, we could see an additional half a million deaths from COVID-19 complications in Europe by February."
The number of daily deaths and infections from the novel coronavirus has been noticeably rising for six consecutive weeks in Europe, particularly in countries like Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Germany.
### Winter's Approach
This comes amid warnings that the upcoming winter season will bring a new wave of the pandemic to Europe, especially as Christmas and New Year celebrations, if not controlled, could contribute to a wide spread of the disease, according to observers.
In this regard, Dr. Zamo Bakhtiar stated in an interview with "Sky News Arabia": "The horrific spread of the virus in Europe poses a danger to all continents and regions around the world. In addition to Europe's population density, its geographical location between continents and its economic, political, and tourist weight make it a connecting link for the world. This automatically means that this pandemic wave will reflect across the globe."
He added: "Despite the availability of huge medical and economic resources in European countries to face the deadly virus more resolutely and successfully, unfortunately, there are fundamental gaps in how Europe is dealing with the pandemic."
He noted that there are sometimes conflicting approaches to managing and combating the pandemic. He confirmed that it would have been better to formulate a unified health policy among EU countries, as one country relies on herd immunity, another on lockdowns, and a third is somewhere in between. Ultimately, we see a general European failure in addressing COVID-19.
