A new wave of Covid has steadily swept through central Europe and is now affecting our nearest neighbours in Western Europe. Our friends on the continent have been forced to respond with various degrees of new restrictions, from full lockdowns, to lockdowns for the unvaccinated, to restrictions on business opening hours and restrictions on social gatherings. We don’t yet know the extent to which this new wave will wash up on our shores, but history shows we cannot afford to be complacent.
Boris Johnson, PM of United Kingdom (15.11.2021)
Since 31 December 2019, when the WHO was informed about the first cases in Wuhan, China, more than 250 million people are confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 (Coronavirus) from the SARS-CoV-2 virus and more than 5.1 million people have died (all figures last updated 21 November 2021).
The highest number of cases is still recorded in the United States of America (more that 47 million), followed by India (34.5 million), Brazil (22 million), United Kingdom (9.7 million) and Russia (9.7 million). Turkey (8.5 million), France (7.1 million), Iran (6 million), Argentina (5.3 million) and Germany (5.2 million) complete the top 10. The fourth wave starting in autumn has resulted in a rise of cases in most European countries, despite vaccinations.
Read more on the chronology of the pandemic in our blog.
