Europe braces for another deadly Covid surge as some countries go back into lockdown

More than 1.5 million people in Europe have already died from Covid during the pandemic. WHO’s latest projections suggest that number will rise to 2.2 million over the winter months, with “high or extreme stress” set to hit intensive care units in 49 of the 53 nations in the region.

But the agency’s statement on Tuesday also insisted that mask-wearing could prevent many of those deaths. If 95% of people wore masks, WHO estimated that more than 160,000 fatalities would be avoided by spring.