Colossal Spike In COVID-19 Cases In Europe Piques Fears Of The Pandemic's Second Wave

The alarming uptick in the COVID-19 cases in September across Europe has sparked fears of a second wave of the pandemic. The World Health Organization sounded the alarm earlier this week, urging European governments to re-impose lockdowns and stringent health measures to curb the relapse of the global health crisis.

“Weekly cases have now exceeded those reported when the pandemic first peaked in Europe in March,” said WHO regional director Hans Kluge. “Last week, the region's weekly tally exceeded 300,000 patients,” he added.

While Europe performed exceedingly well at controlling the pandemic’s surge in June, the surprising spike in the transmissions in September stands as a wake-up call – to be on alert, again. As per Kluge’s recent observations, the rise is observed among those falling within the age bracket of 25-49 years.

The health chief implored people to exercise precaution as the viral outbreak has brought the economy on its knees. “This pandemic has taken so much from us," Kluge said, as per a report, indicating the ghastly 4.9 million recorded Covid-19 cases in Europe and more than 226,000 fatalities. "And this tells only part of the story. The impact on our mental health, economies, livelihoods, and society has been monumental,” he added.

The clusters (of infection) have multiplied in France, with a steep rise being indicated even in countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and Italy.

The erratic surge has pushed countries like England to be proactive in their regulation strategies. England’s recently imposed rule prohibits the gatherings of groups of more than six – irrespective of whether they’re hosted indoors or outdoors. It’s likely for stricter rules to be brought forth to curtail the viral spread, as suggested by UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock in the Parliament on Thursday. Hancock reiterated upon the need to take “immediate action” in a bid to combat another colossal spike as the winter approaches.

As per the recent statistics shared by John Hopkins University; at least 41,773 COVID-19 related fatalities have been reported in the UK, thus marking the highest toll in Europe. Authorities in Madrid, the Capital of Spain, are likely to introduce similar restrictions to combat the spread.

Spain has logged in 30,000 deaths since the start of the outbreak, aside from 600,000 total cases.