What has caused infections to surge in European nations?

About 50,000 people are dying from Covid-19 around the world each week – and some countries are reporting their highest death rates since the pandemic broke out.

Last week, Russia recorded more than 1,000 daily deaths for the first time.

Neighbouring countries such as Romania and Ukraine have reported record death rates, while other eastern European nations such as Latvia have introduced restrictions to reduce case numbers.

Europe was the only major region in the world to record an increase in cases this month.

Q

What is causing rates to rise in Russia?

A

The relaxation of social distancing rules and other restrictions, the spread of the Delta variant and low vaccination rates could all be factors.

Russia was one of the first nations to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, but the inoculation rate remains low, with only 31.3 per cent of the population fully vaccinated, Our World in Data said.

There are reports of widespread public scepticism about inoculation. Analysts suggest criticism of shots developed in the West has led to a wider distrust of Covid-19 vaccines.

Moscow has stopped short of imposing another national lockdown despite the increasing death toll, with authorities at the local level announcing restrictions instead.

In some major cities, including Moscow, there were few measures until Thursday, when authorities said movement would be restricted in the capital from

October 28. Other regional authorities are toughening rules in response to the rising infection rate.

What is happening in eastern Europe?

The vaccination rate in Romania has disappointed authorities, with only 29.7 per cent of people fully inoculated, less than half the EU average.

This is thought to be part of the reason for the surge in hospital admissions and deaths in the country. More than 500 people out of every 100,000 have tested positive for the virus and last week health officials reported more than 500 deaths in a day – the highest yet.

Ukraine, with only 15.3 per cent of its population vaccinated, is also experiencing a record death rate that has exceeded 500 a day.

Among other eastern European nations, several have high infection and fatality rates. Latvia has a vaccination rate below the EU average and has reported 750 infections for every 100,000 people.

With senior politicians in the Baltic state urging people to get vaccinated, new lockdown restrictions, such as the closure of restaurants, entertainment venues and schools, have been announced.

Why are daily case tallies so high in the UK?

In the UK, more than 45 million people – about 79 per cent of over-12s – have had both doses of vaccine, but authorities are still reporting more than 40,000 cases a day. The infection rate is about 450 for every 100,000 people.

There have been calls for some restrictions to return, although Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, which controls measures in England, has so far resisted.

Largely thanks to a successful vaccination campaign, daily death tallies are well below their peak in January, although they are still high, at about 800 people each week.

But Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine and an infectious diseases specialist at the University of East Anglia, said the situation was “not quite as bad” as it may seem.

“Rates are going up but in September we had more than 1,000 more people in hospital beds than we’ve got at the moment,” he said.

Waning immunity from vaccination may be a factor behind the increasing numbers in the UK and Prof Hunter said it was “quite plausible” that other European countries would report rising infection rates in a month or two as immunity weakened.

A booster programme is under way in the UK, but it is estimated that 1.5 million people offered an appointment to receive a third shot have yet to accept.

Will boosters curtail hospital admissions and deaths?

Recent events in Israel may suggest that booster shots are effective at helping to bring down rates of serious illness and death.

The country reported its highest case numbers in August and early September, when they peaked at more than 11,000 a day, but daily infection rates are now only about a tenth of that.

Case numbers have fallen to their lowest level for three months and death rates are a fraction of what they were at during the peak of Israel’s fourth wave.

Its booster programme began in July. Older people received a third shot and their infection rate fell before other age groups, indicating that booster shots were effective.

Prof Hunter said the number of people already infected in Israel – and so likely to have immunity – may also have caused rates to drop.

Among a population of 9.2 million, more than

1.3 million cases have been recorded since the pandemic began.

Israel’s use of mask mandates and vaccine passports, which are needed to visit public places such as restaurants, has also been credited with helping to bring down case numbers.