COVID-19 cases in eastern Europe are soon to surpass 20 million, according to a Reuters tally yesterday, as the region grapples with its worst outbreak since the pandemic started and inoculation efforts lag.
Countries in the region have the lowest vaccination rates in Europe, with less than half of the population having received a single dose.
Hungary tops the region’s vaccination rates with 62 percent of its population having received at least one shot, whereas Ukraine has given just 19 percent of its residents a single dose, according to Our World in Data.
Photo: Reuters
New infections in the region have steadily risen and average more than 83,700 new cases per day, the highest level since November last year, Reuters data through Friday showed.
Although it has just 4 percent of the world’s population, eastern Europe accounts for about 20 percent of all new cases reported globally.
More social gathering indoors after the lifting of restrictions just as winter sets in is driving a rise in COVID-19 infections in many countries across Europe, WHO Health Emergencies Program executive director Mike Ryan said on Thursday.
A European Commission poll, the Eurobarometer, has shown that at least one person in three in most countries in the EU’s east does not trust the healthcare system, compared with a bloc average of 18 percent.
More than 40 percent of all new cases reported in eastern Europe were in Russia, with 120 people testing positive every five minutes, according to a Reuters analysis.
Russia’s healthcare system is operating under great strain, Russian Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko said on Wednesday.
The nation on Friday reported record COVID-19 fatalities for the fourth straight day. So far, Russia has vaccinated about 36 percent of its population with one dose.
Moscow would next week shut down all businesses except essential stores, such as supermarkets and pharmacies, to stem the spread of the disease.
Slovakia reported 3,480 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, its highest daily tally since March, health ministry data showed on Wednesday.
The country has one of the lower vaccination rates in the EU, with just more than half the adult population fully inoculated in the country of 5.5 million. This has contributed to a faster rise in infections than in some neighboring countries.
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