EU official says infection surge leveling off, but too early to relax restrictions

BERLIN — The European Union’s latest surge of coronavirus infections is flattening or going down in some but not all countries across the continent but it’s too early to relax current virus restrictions, the head of the continent’s disease control center says.

It’s alarming that the death rate caused by COVID-19 is still rising across Europe — it was 95 per 1 million people last week compared to 84 the week before, says Andrea Ammon, director of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Ammon also notes that occupancy of intensive care units was at 91% last week, meaning that “some countries are probably already at the limit.”

She speaks at at a virtual gathering of lawmakers responsible for European affairs in all the EU member states and at the European Parliament.

Ammon also says there are still challenges when it comes to testing and contact tracing and that EU nations need to harmonize their medical data.

As of today, more than 13 million coronavirus cases have been reported in the 27-nation European Union and over 319,700 people in the bloc have died of COVID-19.

— AP