The WHO called the condition for saving the lives of 188 thousand Europeans from COVID-19

The pace of the spread of CORONAVIRUS in the 53 countries of the European Region is of great concern, but if 95% of the European population uses masks, 188,000 lives could be saved. This was announced on Thursday by the DIRECTOR of the European Bureau of the World HEALTH Organization (WHO) Hans Kluge.

“Reliable forecasts show that if we achieve 95% universal use of masks, we will be able to save 188,000 lives out of the half a million that we could lose before February 2022,” he said.

The number of cases of covid-19 in Europe is nearing record levels, he said, and the most prevalent strain in the region is "delta". He clarified that the increase in the incidence is due to two reasons: insufficient vaccination coverage and the weakening of restrictive measures.

Kluge also pointed out that 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been made in the region so far. “Countries in the European Region are at different stages of vaccination. On average, only 47% of people in the European Region completed the full series of vaccinations, while in eight countries coverage exceeded 70%, in two the figure remains below 10%,” he added.