Our reliable sources have confirmed that the US has issued a travel advisory for Germany and Denmark due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the two European countries. Point to be noted that the European region has seen a recent rise in infections. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) now considers both Germany and Denmark “Level Four: Very High”, telling Americans to avoid travel there. The US State Department also issued “Do Not Travel” advisories for both countries. However, many European countries are on the CDC’s list of “Level Four” countries, including Austria, Britain, Belgium, Greece, Norway, Switzerland, Romania, Ireland, and the Czech Republic. The WHO (World Health Organization) predicts Europe could reach over 2.2 million COVID-19 deaths by March 2022.
The projection came after the organization said Europe and Asia were once again the epicenters of the pandemic earlier this month. Moreover, Austria officially started a full nationwide coronavirus lockdown. It was the first country in the European Union to reinstitute such stringent measures amid the fourth wave of the pandemic. At least 50,000 protesters turned out over the weekend to oppose the country’s fourth lockdown. Austria is also instating a nationwide vaccine mandate by February 1, and all Austrians over the age of 18 will have to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, by law. WHO said COVID-19 cases in the European region, which stretches into Central Asia and includes 53 countries, rose to nearly 4,200 per day. This is double the levels recorded at the end of September.
There have been 1.5 million cumulative deaths in the region since the pandemic began. On November 4, WHO Europe projected that another half a million lives may be lost to COVID-19 before February 2022. The organization also said that if Europe and Asia achieved 95% universal mask-wearing, they could save up to 188,000 of those lives, and stressed that vaccines are the most powerful asset to stopping the spread of COVID-19. Cases are rising in more than 30 states ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday with the latest surge straining hospitals in the Upper Midwest. The White House reported that more than 3 million Americans received a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine over the weekend after the FDA and CDC expanded access to Moderna’s and Pfizer’s boosters for all adults.