|
 A 10-week decline in new coronavirus infections across the region
has come to an end and a new wave of infections is inevitable if
football fans and others drop their guard, according to WHO.
Last week, the number of new cases rose by 10%, driven by mixing of
crowds in Euro 2020 host cities, travel and easing of social
restrictions, WHO said.
"We need to look much beyond just the stadiums themselves," WHO's
senior emergency officer, Catherine Smallwood, told reporters.
"We need to look at how people get there, are they travelling in
large crowded convoys of buses? And when they leave the stadiums,
are they going into crowded bars and pubs to watch the matches?
"It is these small continuous events that are driving the spread of
the virus," Smallwood said.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer called a decision by
European soccer's governing body UEFA to allow big crowds at Euro
2020 "utterly irresponsible".
UEFA said in a statement to Reuters that mitigation measures at host
venues "are fully aligned with the regulations set out by the
competent local public health authorities".
[to top of second column] |
 The rise in new COVID-19 cases
is happening as the more contagious Delta virus
variant spreads rapidly across Europe.
Nearly 2,000 people who live in Scotland have attended a Euro 2020
event while infectious with COVID-19, with many attending their
group stage match against England in London on June 18, Scottish
authorities said on Wednesday.
The rise in infections has raised concern that a third wave could
spread across Europe in the autumn if people don't get vaccinated.
"The concern of an autumn surge is still there, but what we see now
is that it might come even earlier," Smallwood said.
(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen;
editing by John Stonestreet, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Nick Macfie)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content
 |
