Coronavirus cases continue to climb in Europe despite drop elsewhere

WHO’s Europe director Dr Hans Kluge warned that without urgent measures taken soon, the continent could see another 700,000 deaths by the spring

Coronavirus cases have continued to rise across Europe despite mass vaccination programmes (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

The World Health Organisation said that coronavirus cases jumped by 11% in Europe in the last week, the only region in the world where Covid-19 has continued to increase since mid-October.

In its weekly assessment of the pandemic released on Tuesday, the UN health agency said cases and deaths globally have risen by about 6%, with about 3.6 million new infections and 51,00 new deaths reported in the previous week.