The number of new cases of Covid-19 has fallen significantly in Europe over the last month, however progress with the virus remains “fragile”, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

Latest figures show that weekly cases in Europe have fallen from 1.7 million in mid-April to around 685,000 last week – a decrease of 60%.

However, according to Hans Kluge, the WHO’s regional director of Europe, “we have been here before and we learned our lesson the hard way”.

“Let us not make the same mistakes that were made this time last year, that resulted in a resurgence of Covid-19 and saw our health systems, communities and economies once again bear the full force of this pandemic.

“We are heading in the right direction, but need to keep a watchful eye on a virus that has claimed the lives of nearly 1.2 million people in this region,” he commented.

He warned that there are currently “pockets of increasing transmission” in a number of countries, and this could “quickly evolve into dangerous resurgences”.

“The pandemic is not over yet. In coming months, increased mobility, physical interactions and gatherings may lead to more transmission in Europe. If social measures are eased, as most countries across the region are currently doing, the efforts on testing and sequencing, isolation, contact tracing, quarantine and vaccination need to be redoubled to stay in control and ensure that trends remain on a downward course,” Mr Kluge said.

He noted that just 23% of people in the European region have had one dose of a vaccine, while only 11% have had both their doses.

“Most of us are still susceptible to the virus and not vaccinated yet. Right now, in the face of a continued threat and new uncertainty, we need to continue to exercise caution, and rethink or avoid international travel. Vaccines may be a light at the end of the tunnel, but we cannot be blinded by that light,” he said.

Mr Kluge pointed out that the new variant of concern, B.1.617, which was first identified in India, has now been identified in at least 26 of the 53 countries that make up the WHO European region. ,

“We are still learning about the new variant, but it is able to spread rapidly and displace the B.1.17 lineage that has become the dominant lineage in Europe. However, it should be emphasised that all Covid-19 virus variants can be controlled in the same way, with public health and social measures. And all COVID-19 virus variants that have emerged so far, do respond to the available, approved vaccines,” he explained.

Referring to vaccination uptake, Mr Kluge noted that 75% of people over the age of 80 have been vaccinated and the public health impact of this is clear.

“While new cases began to decrease across all ages from mid-April, rates have fallen quickest in the oldest age-groups. Those over 80 are now the least represented in new cases across the region, having been the most represented at the beginning of 2021. The data speaks for itself,” he said.

Figures show that weekly incidence among those older than 80 years in the European region fell from 27.4 cases per 10,000 in mid-December 2020 to 6.2 in the first week of May 2021. In the same age group over the same period, weekly mortality fell from 4.6 per 10,000 to 0.9.

Mr Kluge added that thanks to everyone’s efforts, “we remain on track to assign this pandemic to history”.