Eastern Europe is a new flashpoint for the pandemic

In Eastern Europe, where the coronavirus is currently spreading in several countries, the twenty millionth positive test was registered on Sunday, reports Reuters on the basis of its own data. At the same time, it’s only a matter of time before the five millionth coronavirus-related death is recorded worldwide, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

There are now more than 4,960,000 deaths, but the actual number is probably much higher. Worldwide, various governments are deliberately keeping the numbers low or the administration is ‘just’ not in order. Researchers from Israel and Germany concluded at the end of June that the death toll should be “at least 1.4 times higher”. So, according to them, the actual actual death toll would be around seven million.

In Eastern Europe there are three of the five countries that currently report the most deaths per day, writes Reuters. These are Russia, Ukraine and Romania. Russia has reported a new record number of coronavirus-related deaths every day for the past five days. Within 24 hours, more than a thousand people died with COVID-19.

Russia, like Ukraine and other Eastern European countries, is struggling with the relatively low vaccination rate. Whereas more than a third of the population has so far been pricked in Russia, the figure in Ukraine is only 19%. In many countries in the region, the inhabitants distrust the available vaccines and the government that is trying to persuade them.

Due to the lack of coronavirus punctures, Eastern European countries now report around 84,000 positive tests per day. That’s the largest number since November last year. Worldwide, Eastern Europe now accounts for one in five new positive tests.

Romania announced on Saturday measures to contain the coronavirus flare-up. For example, schools have to close for two weeks and parties and weddings are temporarily prohibited. The most controversial decision is the choice to return the curfew, but the measure only applies to non-vaccinees. They have to stay indoors from Monday between 22.00 and 5.00.

Romanian deputy interior minister Raed Arafat described the country’s coronavirus situation as “catastrophic”. He blames the situation on the low willingness to vaccinate and states that the residents “could have prevented”the coronavirus measures.