If 95% of Europe’s population wears masks, it can save the lives of almost 190 thousand of the 500 thousand people who may die before February 2022.
Photo: Emilio Morenatti / AP
The rate of spread of the coronavirus in 53 countries in the European Region is of great concern, but if 95% of Europe’s population uses masks, 188,000 lives could be saved. This was announced on Thursday by the director of the European Bureau of the World Health Organization (WHO) Hans Kluge.
“Reliable predictions show that if we achieve 95% universal use of masks, we can save 188 thousand of the half-million lives that could be lost by February 2022,” he said.
According to him, the number of cases of COVID-19 in Europe is approaching a record level, and the most common strain in the region is “delta”. He clarified that the increase in the incidence is due to two reasons: insufficient vaccination coverage and the weakening of restrictive measures.
Kluge also indicated that 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been made in the region so far. “Countries in the European Region are at different stages of vaccination. On average, only 47% of people in the European Region have received a full series of vaccinations. While coverage exceeded 70% in eight countries, in two it remains below 10%, ”he added.
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