As Europe witnesses a surge in coronavirus cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an “explorer” or monitoring tool that provides an overview of the current COVID-19 situation in the Region, focusing on UEFA EURO 2020 host cities.
The explorer launched by WHO is intended as a tool for authorities, organizers, and the public to better understand the COVID-19 situation in host cities and assess related risks at a public health and individual level. The explorer provides epidemiological trends across the Region, an event-based surveillance system, details of public health and social measures, and tracking of cases of COVID-19 in host countries.
WHO also said that Euro 2020 football matches need to be better monitored with several thousand spectators attending the games.
"We need to look much beyond just the stadia themselves," WHO's Catherine Smallwood said, emphasizing that authorities need to closely look at spectators when they arrive and leave the stadium.
WHO's regional director for Europe Hans Kluge informed that virus cases in Europe were on the rise once again after declining for two months as the continent battles the Delta variant. Kluge added that the Delta variant has become the dominant strain in Europe while expressing doubts over the pace of vaccine rollout.
Kluge also highlighted that vaccines need to cover at least 80 percent of the population however just 24 percent of the region has been covered so far with the elderly and health workers still largely unprotected even as the virus spreads.
The explorer launched by WHO is intended as a tool for authorities, organizers, and the public to better understand the COVID-19 situation in host cities and assess related risks at a public health and individual level. The explorer provides epidemiological trends across the Region, an event-based surveillance system, details of public health and social measures, and tracking of cases of COVID-19 in host countries.
WHO also said that Euro 2020 football matches need to be better monitored with several thousand spectators attending the games.
"We need to look much beyond just the stadia themselves," WHO's Catherine Smallwood said, emphasizing that authorities need to closely look at spectators when they arrive and leave the stadium.
WHO's regional director for Europe Hans Kluge informed that virus cases in Europe were on the rise once again after declining for two months as the continent battles the Delta variant. Kluge added that the Delta variant has become the dominant strain in Europe while expressing doubts over the pace of vaccine rollout.
Kluge also highlighted that vaccines need to cover at least 80 percent of the population however just 24 percent of the region has been covered so far with the elderly and health workers still largely unprotected even as the virus spreads.
