Statement – Preparing for the autumn is a priority now at the WHO Regional Office for Europe
Statement to the Russian-language media by Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe
18 June 2020, Copenhagen, Denmark
Good morning, good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today.
I will begin today with a brief overview of the current COVID-19 situation.
The virus has now claimed the lives of almost half a million people globally, each one a tragedy. The number of confirmed cases across the world has surpassed 8 million. The European Region accounts for 31% of cases and 43% of deaths globally.
After weeks of cases declining in some countries, the number of new cases has now stabilized at around 17,000 to 20,000 cases per day across the European Region on average.
Let me share a development that should ring alarm bells across the Region – several countries continue to face increased incidence, while others are seeing an increase in numbers – such as North Macedonia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Israel.
In the past month the number of European countries showing significant increases in cumulative incidence has more than tripled, from 6 to 21 countries.
As I have expressed to many journalists, Covid-19 is still in a very active phase in many countries. It is crucial that we continue to recover and rebuild following lockdown, but it’s also really important that authorities fully invest in having an aggressive track, test and trace surveillance system to avoid costly additional lockdowns in the weeks and months ahead should the virus rebound.
A warning shot has been fired: school re-opening in a few countries have resulted in local ‘flares’ in the number of cases – we need to remain diligent and lift restrictions with care.
I repeat: The risk remains high across ALL countries.
I have received many questions from journalists on how the pandemic is affecting other areas of health and wellbeing.
The data we have here is concerning.
The pandemic threatens to jeopardize the achievement of most Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. In the European Region 68% of countries have reported that services to manage noncommunicable diseases have been disrupted due to the pandemic. 66% of services for hypertension management, and 58% of those to manage diabetes and its complications have been partially or completely disrupted. New cancer diagnosis dropped by 25% in the Netherlands, and cancer screening programmes were suspended in several countries. In Spain, the cases of myocardial infarction treated by cardiology services dropped 40%, compared to the weeks before the epidemic. We have also observed up to a 60% reduction in TB detection, which leads to late start of treatment and an increase in mortality. National immunization services were interrupted in some countries, with others experiencing a significant drop in coverage – in the UK for example, Measles-mumps-rubella vaccination coverage dropped 20% in mid-April.
This backlog of unattended care must be addressed.
We must reopen these and other vital services safely with the utmost urgency but in safe conditions for frontline workers and patients alike.
Many of you are asking about what the future holds?
With each day that passes we are learning more about the virus, and are a step closer to a safe, effective treatment and vaccine. Indeed, just yesterday, breakthrough findings from a randomized trial established that low dose of the Steroid Dexamethazone proves to be effective in reducing mortality by one third among severely-affected patients.
This marks huge progress, but should not divert all our attention away from the job at hand. The future holds promise but also vulnerability.
A study by The Lancet has revealed a concerning picture – 22% of the global population, that’s 1.7 billion people around the world - have at least one underlying condition that puts them at increased risk of serious illness if infected with COVID-19.
Additionally, an influenza season approaches at the end of summer. An estimated 152 000 died from influenza in 2018-2019. But only a third of those aged over 65 received the flu vaccine . Vaccinating people at high risk from influenza, and health care workers will go some way to reducing the burden on health systems that must also provide care to COVID-19 patients.
Preparing for the autumn is a priority now at the WHO Regional office for Europe.
In closing, I want to express one over-riding message to you all:
We are not out of the woods. Lockdowns and social distancing have gained us time.
Where we have opportunity we must grasp it to strengthen our preparedness and readiness – of our emergency services and our routine health system delivery. That means hoping for the best but preparing for the worst: a likely resurgence of COVID-19, across countries, through regions, in towns and communities. As the popular saying goes, we count our chicks in the Autumn (Цыплят по осени считают) but this depends on how we act now.
Thank you.
