In Romania, one person dies from COVID-19 every five minutes, according to Reuters in an analysis according to which the number of coronavirus cases in Eastern Europe will soon exceed the threshold of 20 million. This region is facing the worst epidemiological situation since the beginning of the pandemic, and vaccination campaigns are proceeding at a slow pace, reporters from Reuters also write.
Eastern European countries have the lowest vaccination rates on the continent and less than half of their inhabitants have so far received at least one dose of an anti-COVID-19 vaccine.
Hungary ranks first in the top of vaccinations in Eastern Europe, with 62% of the population inoculated with at least one dose, and at the opposite pole is Ukraine, where only 19% of residents received a first dose of vaccine, according to the platform online Our World in Data.
3 countries in the Top 5 states of the world with the most deaths in recent weeks are in Eastern Europe: Russia, Ukraine and Romania.
The number of new infections in the region has risen steadily in recent weeks and now averages more than 83,700 new cases each day, the highest level since November 2020, according to a Reuters report based on official statistics released Friday. . Although it has only 4% of the world’s population, Eastern Europe accounts for 20% of the total number of COVID-19 cases reported worldwide.
According to Reuters analysis, three countries in the Top 5 of the world’s states who have reported the most deaths in recent weeks are in Eastern Europe: Russia, Ukraine and Romania.
Increased social interactions indoors after easing anti-epidemic restrictions and the approach of winter are the factors that have led to an increase in infections in many countries across Europe, said Mike Ryan, director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) emergency department. .
As the wave of infections intensifies, many Eastern Europeans have attitudes that swing between defiance and regret not having been vaccinated.
Hundreds of people protested in Sofia and other Bulgarian cities over the mandatory COVID-19 certificates, a measure that went into effect on Thursday and restricts access to many closed public spaces for unvaccinated people.
A European Commission survey called the Eurobarometer showed that at least one in three people in most Eastern European countries does not trust the health system, compared to an average of 18% across the European bloc.
Low rates of COVID-19 vaccination have contributed to the rapid increase in infections
More than 40 percent of all new infections reported in Eastern Europe come from Russia, where 120 people are tested positive for the new coronavirus every five minutes, according to a Reuters analysis. Russia’s medical system is under enormous pressure, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on Wednesday. On Friday, Russia reported a record number of deaths associated with COVID-19 for the fourth day in a row.
To date, Russia has vaccinated 36% of its population of 144 million with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Moscow, the capital and most populous city in the country, will close all stores next week except essential ones, such as supermarkets and pharmacies, to limit the spread of the virus.
Slovakia reported 3,480 new cases of COVID-19 on October 19, the highest daily record since March, according to figures released Wednesday by the country’s health ministry. Slovakia has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the European Union: just over 50% of the country’s adult population has been fully vaccinated in this country with 5.5 million inhabitants, Reuters was quoted as saying by Agerpres.
Low rates of COVID-19 vaccination have contributed to the rapid rise in infections in other countries in the region.
A Romanian killed by Covid every five minutes
In Romania, hospitals operate in overload mode, and all beds in intensive care units across the country are already occupied. The morgues in turn operate at full capacity. Romania reported record numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths on Tuesday. The new coronavirus killed a Romanian every five minutes, on average, in October, and the vaccination rate is very low, Romania occupying the penultimate place in the ranking of vaccinations in the European Union.
For its part, Ukraine recorded a new record for COVID-19 infections and associated deaths on Friday for the second day in a row. The country has extended the state of emergency to allow authorities to impose restrictions by the end of the year in order to limit the number of infections.
Editor : A.A.
