Filenews 1 July 2021
Cities hosting the last matches of the European Football Championship (Euro 2020) should ensure that spectators are watched more closely, even before arriving at the stadiums and afterwards, in order to avoid the spread of covid-19, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended today.
"We have to look beyond the stages themselves," Catherine Smallwood, a WHO Europe official, stressed during a press conference when asked about the agency's recommendations in the face of rising crown cases in London and St. Petersburg.
The British capital is expected to host the semi-finals and the Euro finals next week, while the quarter-final match between Switzerland and Spain will take place tomorrow Friday in St Petersburg.
When asked if the Euro could be a "hotbed of over-transmission" of Covid-19, WHO director for Europe Hans Kluge replied: "I hope not, but I cannot rule it out."
Several hundred cases of Covid-19 were detected in spectators of Euro matches - mainly Scots returning from London, Finns returning from St Petersburg, but also spectators at the Copenhagen stadium - who turned out to be infected by the highly contagious Delta strain.
Almost 2,000 people living in Scotland attended Euro matches while they were carriers of the coronavirus, many of whom were present at the match against England in London on 18 June, the Scottish authorities announced yesterday Wednesday.
"What we need to see around the stadiums is how do people get there, move around in a convoy of full buses or implement personal protection measures?" stressed Smallwood.
WHO Europe also called for an audit of what "spectators can do when they leave stadiums, go to crowded bars or pubs?" he added.
Moreover, the WHO has called for vigilance to all major events scheduled for the summer.
"What we do know is that in a situation of rising cases, large concentrations can play the role of multiplier in terms of transmission," Smallwood concluded.
The rise in Covid-19 cases has raised concern about a new wave of infections in Europe in the autumn if people are not vaccinated.
"The concern about a flare-up in the autumn exists, but what we are seeing now is that it may come sooner," she stressed.
Source: eyenews/protothema.gr
