(CNN) Europe is facing a potentially devastating winter that could see half a million people die with Covid-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday, as it sounded the alarm over a surge in cases and bemoaned stuttering vaccination rollouts on parts of the continent. Much of Europe is battling spikes in infections, with Germany on Thursday reporting its highest number of daily new cases since the pandemic began. And in a dire new warning, WHO regional director Hans Kluge said the pace of transmission across the region was of "grave concern." "We are, once again, at the epicenter," Kluge said in a statement. "According to one reliable projection, if we stay on this trajectory, we could see another half a million COVID-19 deaths in Europe and Central Asia by the first of February next year," he warned, adding that 43 of the 53 countries on his patch could also see high or extreme stress on hospital beds.

Source: CNN November 06, 2021 00:19 UTC