The World Health Organisation said coronavirus deaths rose by 10 per cent in Europe in the past week, and an agency official declared last week that the continent was "back at the epicentre of the pandemic". While nations in Western Europe all have vaccination rates over 60 per cent — and some like Portugal and Spain are much higher — that still leaves a significant portion of their populations without protection. Austria is seeing one of the most serious outbreaks in Western Europe, along with Germany, which has reported a string of record-high infections in recent days. Health Minister Jens Spahn indicated Germany could improve its often lax enforcement of Covid pass requirements. The government will only reimpose restrictions if the health service comes under "unsustainable" pressure, he says.

Source: New Zealand Herald November 12, 2021 23:45 UTC