Coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and deaths are plummeting across the continent, after Europe led the world in new cases last fall and winter in waves that cost hundreds of thousands of lives, forced more rolling lockdowns and overwhelmed intensive care units.
Vaccination rates are now accelerating across Europe.
Europe saw the biggest decrease in new COVID-19 infections and deaths this week compared with any other region, also reporting almost 44% of adults having received at least one dose of vaccine, according to the World Health Organization and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Europe’s seven-day rolling average for new cases per 100,000 people had been higher than any other region from mid-October through the beginning of December, ceding the unwanted top spot to the Americas over the new year before reclaiming it from early February through April, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.
No European country now holds a spot among the top 10 for new cases per 100,000 people.
However, the virus is spiking in Southeast Asia and much of Latin America. Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO’s chief of emergencies, warned that with the global situation still “fragile and volatile,” Europe is by no means out of the woods.
Experts have warned about relaxing measures prematurely, which had potentially contributed to surges in 2020 and beginning of 2021.
A big concern for Europe is the highly contagious variant first detected in India, which has surged in the country, leading to spikes in deaths and cases.
The British government warned Thursday that the variant from India accounts for 50% to 75% of all new infections and could delay its plans to lift remaining social restrictions on June 21.
Rising British cases linked to the variant prompted Germany and France this week to require U.K. passengers to quarantine.
Vaccines appear to be highly effective against the variant detected in India.
Officials and experts have also warned about encouraging tourism at a time of potential spread of the variant, when many could have been protected by vaccines.
