The thrills of a fifth wave of Covid-19 in Europe? If in France “we are witnessing an upward trend” but that it is a “small push, not an epidemic wave”, according to the Minister of Health Olivier Véran, the health situation has deteriorated among our European neighbors.

This week, on the Old Continent, a 16% increase in listed cases was recorded, as well as a 10% increase in deaths linked to Covid-19 infection.

Since October 13, the number of new cases of contamination in the United Kingdom has exceeded the threshold of 40,000 per

day, with a peak this Thursday at 51.719. This is the first time in three months that the country has exceeded the bar of 50,000 new daily cases. For comparison, the month before, 30,000 cases on average recorded each day.

The British Health Security Agency also confirmed on Friday that it had placed the “AY4.2” variant under surveillance, a sub-variant of the Delta variant of Covid-19 which is spreading in the country. The new strain cited last week 6% of total cases in the UK, said in its weekly bulletin the UK Health Security Agency, which classified it as “variant under investigation”. “Preliminary evidence may appear that it has a higher transmission rate compared to the delta”, explained the British public health agency.

With nearly 140,000 deaths from Covid-19, the country is the most affected by the pandemic in Europe. If, thanks to vaccination, the number of hospitalizations and deaths remains lower than in previous waves, it is increasing, and more and more scientists are calling for the return of certain restrictions such as wearing masks indoors. This Wednesday, on Sky News, NHS Confederation boss Matthew Taylor appealed to the government, saying the country is “already in a situation where things are likely to deteriorate in two or three weeks”. “We must act immediately”, he urged.

Despite numerous warnings from the scientific world, Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed the idea of ​​new containment, saying the hypothesis was not on the table. According to him, the current contamination rates are in line with government projections.

In Belgium, the trend is also towards an epidemic resumption. As of October 22, the country has registered 6,682 new cases, up from 2,254 the month before. In detail, between October 13 and 19, there is an increase of 65% of cases detected compared to the previous week.

As in the United Kingdom, the government is not considering a new confinement but does not exclude the extension of the use of the health pass. Frank Vandenbroucke, Minister of Health, explained on Sunday that the question would be raised on Monday, during the Council of Ministers. “There are absolutely no new locks coming. Without the vaccines we would have been in a total disaster today, but luckily many people have already been vaccinated.”, he added on the set of VTM Nieuws.

In Germany, the incidence rate reached 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants on Saturday, for the first time since May. Eight days ago it was still 68.7. The Robert Koch health watch institute also counted 15,145 new infections in one day, up 31% over eight days.

The number of deaths in Germany linked to a Covid-19 infection increased by 86 cases on Saturday to reach 95,077 since the start of the pandemic.

The German government said it was vigilant on Friday in the face of the recent rise in the number of new cases of Covid-19 in the country, in all age groups, warning that the situation could worsen as the day approaches. ‘winter. German Health Minister Jens Spahn notably hinted that certain restrictions, such as wearing a mask, remained in effect until spring.

In the Netherlands, the number of new cases of contamination by the coronavirus increased by 41% in one week, between October 17 and 24 (3,700 against 6,311 cases). Some hospitals have in particular been forced to deprogram interventions to open care services dedicated to Covid-19 patients.

“Most people hospitalized because of Covid-19 are not vaccinated”, explained on Tuesday the Institute of Public Health of the Netherlands. “In intensive care units, this is the case for four out of five patients”, he added.

Eastern European countries are also affected by the phenomenon. Russia recorded a new record of deaths and contaminations linked to Covid-19 this Saturday, for the third consecutive day. According to the government’s toll, 1,075 people have died and 37,678 (+ 17%) have been infected in the last 24 hours.

Since June, the country has been facing a new wave of the epidemic caused by the appearance of more aggressive variants, the low respect for wearing a mask and the great difficulties of its vaccination campaign. The death toll has now reached 229,528, making Russia the most bereaved country in Europe. But these data are largely underestimated: the statistics agency Rosstat having counted more than 400,000 deaths at the end of August.

Faced with the current murderous wave, the latter were slow to react and impose restrictive measures, for fear of weakening an already faltering economy. This week, President Vladimir Putin finally ordered a week off from October 30 to November 7 in an attempt to break the chains of contamination.

In Ukraine, 23,785 new infections were identified on Friday and 614 people died in the former Soviet republic, a record for the second day in a row. In response, new restrictions were reintroduced, especially in the capital. Students in Kiev will thus be exempted from school during the two weeks – the first coinciding with the autumn holidays. Kindergartens will remain open if all their employees are vaccinated.

The capital could also announce the closure of businesses, theaters and other public places unless their employees are vaccinated.

Bulgaria, which sees its health system overwhelmed, announced on Saturday that it was about to send Covid-19 patients abroad. Despite the establishment of a health pass in places such as restaurants and shopping centers, experts report that the current wave could cause up to 5,000 to 9,000 contaminations per day within two weeks, in this country of 6 , 9 million inhabitants.

Like its neighbor, Romania, a country of 19 million inhabitants, has recorded 1.5 million cases, with 15,000 new infections identified on Saturday. In an attempt to stem the new wave, the government has stepped up measures to fight the epidemic, by making the mask compulsory throughout the country from Monday and by banning events such as weddings for 30 days. At the same time, sports halls, shopping centers and restaurants must require the health pass and unvaccinated people must adhere to a 10 p.m. curfew.

Unlike the rest of the continent, in the countries of the South, such as Spain, Italy and Portugal, the indicators remain green.