Europe has surpassed one million COVID-19 deaths: WHO

UN health agency warns of a ‘serious’ situation in the region as infections soar to record levels in some nations.

A top official from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday said Europe had surpassed one million deaths from COVID-19 and warned the situation remains “serious” in the region, with about 1.6 million new cases reported there each week. The comments by WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge aimed to emphasise that Europe must keep up its guard with social distancing and speed up vaccinations as virus variants drive new infections to record levels in some nations. Overall, a tally by Johns Hopkins University shows nearly three million deaths have been linked to COVID-19 worldwide – with the Americas hardest hit, followed by Europe. The United States, Brazil and Mexico have reported the highest number of deaths, collectively at more than 1.1 million.