(ANSA-AFP) - STOCKHOLM, JUL 16 - The EU's disease agency said
Friday it was predicting a sharp increase in coronavirus cases,
with nearly five times as many new infections by August 1. The
expected rise in cases was linked to the highly-transmissible
Delta variant, first identified in India, along with the
relaxing of measures in European countries. In its coverage area
-- which includes the European Union, Norway and Iceland -- the
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
expected to see 420 cases per 100,000 inhabitants for the week
ending on August 1, up from just under 90 last week, it said in
a weekly report. By the week after, the number of new cases is
expected to rise above 620 per 100,000 inhabitants. "The current
continuing deterioration of the epidemiological situation in
many countries is expected to continue given the rapid increase
in the Delta variant," the ECDC said in the report.
Hospitalisations and deaths are also expected, although at a
slower pace, according to the ECDC, thanks to the rollout of
vaccination campaigns. Currently, hospitalisations remain stable
in most countries but the number of deaths associated with
Covid-19 is expected to exceed 10 per 1,000,000 inhabitants
again, compared with 6.8 last week, the agency noted. The ECDC
said it was forecasting increasing cases in 20 countries and
increased deaths in nine: Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.
(ANSA-AFP).
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