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Europe's 'alarming' excess death toll has reached 159,000, WHO says

Health workers in Spain during a minute of silence in memory of those who died of Covid-19 - Brais Lorenzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Health workers in Spain during a minute of silence in memory of those who died of Covid-19 - Brais Lorenzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
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Europe has witnessed more than 159,000 excess deaths since early March, the head of the World Health Organization’s regional office has said.

Despite a surge in cases in Latin America, dubbed the “new epicentre” of the pandemic, Europe still accounts for half of all deaths worldwide and a third of confirmed coronavirus cases - to date roughly two million people have been infected and more than 175,000 people have died after contracting the virus.

“Perhaps a less reported, but equally alarming figure is that since early March, more than 159,000 excess deaths, coinciding with the pandemic, have been reported from 24 European countries,” Dr Hans Kluge, director of WHO Europe, told a virtual press briefing on Thursday.

“These are deaths above and beyond what we would have expected normally at this time of the year.”

Excess deaths is a measure of the number of people who have died during a given crisis, irrespective of the cause, compared to that which could have been expected under “normal” conditions. It is considered a “gold standard” to assess the overall impact of a disease.

In the UK figures published by the Office for National Statistics earlier this week found that the excess deaths since the beginning of March have now surpassed 60,000 - a figure second only to the US.

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And according to Dr Kluge, Britain is still leading in terms of new infections in Europe, along with Russia, Turkey and Belarus.

Dr Catherine Smallwood, a senior emergency officer at WHO Europe, said that the timing of the continent’s excess death toll - recorded as thousands were dying in intensive care units in countries including Italy, France, Spain and the UK - points to the deadly impact of Covid-19.

“What we have seen very clearly is that the peak in excess mortality corresponds in those countries to the peak of the transmission of Covid-19,” Dr Smallwood said. “This gives us a very good indication that a very significant proportion of this excess deaths is linked and due to Covid-19.”

She added that countries should not ease control measures without robust contract tracing systems in place, to help prevent a “second wave” of infections.

To date in Europe almost six in ten confirmed coronavirus fatalities have been in men, while 94 per cent were among those aged 60 and over, Dr Kluge said on Thursday.

The vast majority, 97 per cent, of people who died had at least one underlying health condition, with cardiovascular disease being the most common, he added.

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