The World Health Organization said this week that coronavirus variants are causing another increase in infections in Europe.
Why it matters: European countries reported about 1 million new cases last week, about a 9% increase over the previous week. The increase last week ended a six-week decline in six infections, the WHO said according to AP.
By the numbers: The variant, first found in the UK, which may be more transmissible and deadly than the original strain of the virus, is spreading across 27 AP countries monitored by WHO.
- It is now the dominant tribe in at least ten countries: Britain, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Israel, Spain and Portugal.
- Meanwhile, the variant first discovered in South Africa has been found in 26 European countries. The vaccine manufacturers Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax have each indicated that their vaccines, although still effective, offer less protection against the South African variant.
- The Brazilian variant, which is detected in 15 European countries, could possibly re-infect people who have survived infections with earlier versions of the coronavirus, according to Reuters.
The whole picture: The Italian government this week tightened coronavirus restrictions in some of its 20 regions in response to the boom.