WHO: ‘500,000 COVID Deaths In Europe Without Restrictions’
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy New
(Worthy News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has effectively told Europe‘s leaders to maintain COVID restrictions even as people were injured in protests against these policies in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam.
The WHO’s Regional director Hans Kluge warned that some 500,000 more COVID-19 related deaths could be recorded by March unless “urgent action” is taken.
Kluge spoke while a tense calm returned to the streets of Rotterdam, where police fired shots to end riots following protests against the government’s COVID plans. The cabinet of caretaking Prime Minister Mark Rutte wants to restrict access to indoor venues to people with a “corona pass,” proving they are vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19.
Last week, it reimposed a partial lockdown saying the Netherlands’ strictest rules since World War Two are needed to end a record number of coronavirus infections.
But on the streets of Rotterdam, frustration over these measures led to angry scenes with at least one police car set ablaze and another with a bicycle smashed through the windshield.
Riot police used a water cannon to drive hundreds of rioters from a central street in the port city. But it took hours before a tense calm returned to downtown Rotterdam.
AUSTRIA LOCKDOWN
Dozens of people were detained and more than a handful injured in the clashes. Tensions were also rising Saturday in other nations where governments announced restrictions.
Austria has become the first European Union nation this EU winter to announce a total lockdown starting Monday for a maximum of 20 days.
Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said the government would force all nearly nine million citizens of the alpine nation to be vaccinated against COVID-19 from February 1.
He complained that “too many” people were “incited” not to get the jab because of “too many political forces, flimsy vaccination opponents and fake news.” That is why, he said, he would make “COVID vaccination obligatory nationwide” from February 2022.
In neighboring Germany, Health Minister Jens Spahn described the situation as a “national emergency” and refused to rule out another national lockdown.
Elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have also announced new restrictions on unvaccinated people. Nearby Hungary introduced stricter rules on wearing face masks Saturday.
BRITAIN WORRIED
It also announced a week-long vaccination campaign for everyone who wants it in all 101 hospitals.
That includes other jabs, known as booster shots, for already fully vaccinated people.
Outside the EU, Britain’s government said it has no plans for another lockdown.
But it warned it might introduce measures such as mandatory COVID passports and compulsory face coverings in specific indoor settings and advice to work from home.
The announcements in West and Central-Eastern Europe come as the World Health Organization said it was “very worried” about the spread of COVID-19 within Europe.
However, critics say the WHO has too much influence over governments which should strike a balance between the needs of free societies and calls for more coronavirus measures.