Xinhua News Agency, Helsinki, July 9th, report: Delta virus spreads in Europe to fight the epidemic and meet challenges
Xinhua News Agency reporter
According to data released by the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention on the 8th, the EU/EEA has reported a total of more than 33 million confirmed cases of new crown. Among them, in the two weeks from June 22 to July 6, the region reported a total of more than 260,000 new confirmed cases of new crowns, and only in the week from June 29 to July 6, newly diagnosed There are more than 170,000 cases.
The delta strain of the new coronavirus mutant first discovered in India spread rapidly, bringing many challenges to Europe’s anti-epidemic. Many governments and experts call on the people to strictly abide by the epidemic prevention measures and get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Delta will be “dominant”
Hans Kruger, director of the World Health Organization’s European Regional Office, recently warned that infection with the Delta strain has become the main reason for the increase in hospitalizations and deaths in the region. New crown mutant virus. The latest risk assessment issued by the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention on June 23 also pointed out that the Delta strain is expected to dominate Europe in August.
In Germany, the delta strain is spreading rapidly. Lothar Willer, director of the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, said that it is estimated that one out of every two newly confirmed cases in the country is currently infected with the Delta strain. German Health Minister Spand said that with the increase in the proportion of new cases infected with the delta strain, it is expected that it will soon become the dominant new coronavirus mutation in Germany.
Statistics released by France on the 7th show that among the 18 regions, the incidence of new crowns in 11 regions has increased by an average of 29% in the past 7 days. French Minister of Health, Véran, said on social media that under the influence of the highly contagious Delta strain, there is the possibility of a new wave of epidemics starting at the end of July in France.
Data released by Finland on the 8th showed that there were more than 2,200 new confirmed cases in the country in the past two weeks, more than double the number in the previous two weeks. Hannah Noshinek, the chief physician of the Finnish National Institute of Health and Welfare, believes that the number of confirmed cases of the new crown will double as expected. The delta strain is more contagious, and when there is a chain of infection, the strain spreads faster.
Greece added 1820 confirmed cases of new crowns on the 7th, the highest recorded recently. The president of the National Public Health Organization of Greece, Akumanas, said that although the current major strain of the new crown virus in Greece is still the first alpha strain found in the UK, it is expected that the delta strain will be “dominant” in Greece in August.
Vaccines are still the “ace” of anti-epidemic
Experts pointed out that the current vaccination is still effective in preventing Delta strain infection, but the slower the vaccination rate, the greater the possibility of more mutant viruses.
French government spokesperson Gabriel Atal said at a press conference on the 7th: “The delta strain poses a serious challenge, and it spreads extremely fast. Vaccines are our’trump card’ in fighting the epidemic. Full mobilization and promotion. The time has come for mass vaccination work.”
Nikos Hadalias, deputy minister of the Ministry of Civil Protection and Crisis Management of Greece, said that the delta strain has begun to circulate in Greece and that unvaccinated people are at risk. As the new cases in Greece are mainly young people, the Greek government urges young people to actively vaccinate to prevent the more contagious delta strain from spreading further.
Bernd Zalzberger, professor of infectious diseases at the University Hospital of Regensburg in Germany, pointed out that in the face of the mutant virus, letting as many people as possible complete two doses of vaccination can reduce the number of infections.
According to data from the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as of the 8th, 63.1% of the adult population in the EU/EEA had received at least one dose of the vaccine, and the proportion of fully vaccinated adults reached 42.8%, and 70% of the adult population had not yet been vaccinated. The goal.
The data also shows that there is a huge gap in vaccination rates in the EU/EEA. In this region, Belgium has the highest vaccination rate, with 78% of adults receiving at least one dose, while in Bulgaria, which has the lowest vaccination rate, this rate is only 17%.
In order to encourage people to be vaccinated, the Bulgarian government has added new crown vaccination points in parks, large shopping malls, cultural centers and other places. It also stipulates that starting from July 5th, if companies with more than 50 employees apply for vaccination, the government will send a mobile vaccination The group is vaccinated.
Eva Christova, director of the Bulgarian National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, said that the number of people infected with the delta strain in the country is expected to continue to grow. She called on people to strictly observe the epidemic prevention measures and get vaccinated as soon as possible because ” Vaccines are still very effective against these mutant viruses.” (Note holder: Chen Jing; participating reporters: Zhang Yirong, Chen Chen, Yu Shuaishuai, Sun Yifei, Chen Wenxian, Lin Jing, Fu Yiming)
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