We must not be complacent in the face of Covid, which is responsible for a thousand deaths every week in Europe, the European office of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned today.

“Even if it is no longer a global health emergency, Covid-19 is not gone,” regional director Hans Kluge said at a press conference.

The WHO announced on May 5 that the Covid-19 pandemic is no longer a global health emergency.

“Nearly 1,000 new deaths due to Covid-19 continue to be recorded every week in the region,” he said.

In addition, “this number is an underestimate due to the decrease in the number of countries that systematically report deaths due to Covid-19 to the WHO,” Kluge added, calling on the authorities to ensure vaccination coverage of at least 70% of the susceptible population.

According to the UN official, it is a “complex disease about which we continue to know little” despite 1 in 30 Europeans suffering from long Covid over the past three years.

According to these estimates, about 36 million inhabitants of the region that includes 53 countries and extends to central Asia, have undoubtedly been affected by long Covid.

“We must continue to focus on the long-term consequences of Covid, such as long Covid (…) These continue to have a large impact on health around the world and cannot be ignored,” said emergency manager Catherine Smallwood.

Across Europe, vigilance also remains for the outbreak of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) – 22 cases were recorded in Europe in May – and the effects of heat waves, according to WHO Europe.