The Covid-19 pandemic is heading towards its “endgame” in Europe due to the milder Omicron variant, according to the World Health Organisation’s Europe director.
Hans Kluge said it was “plausible” the region is moving towards a “kind of pandemic endgame”.
He said the Omicron variant could infect up to 60 per cent of Europeans by March.
“We anticipate that there will be a period of quiet before Covid may come back towards the end of the year, but not necessarily the pandemic coming back,” he told AFP in an interview.
However, he urged countries not to abandon caution altogether, saying other variants could still emerge.
“There is a lot of talk about endemic but endemic means... that it is possible to predict what’s going to happen. This virus has surprised (us) more than once so we have to be very careful,” Kluge said.
European countries have seen record Covid cases over the winter period as the Omicron wave swept across the continent, but signs seem to suggest this is now slowing.
The WHO’s technical lead on coronavirus, Maria van Kerkhove, also said it would be “premature” to end the requirement to self-isolate when infected.
Boris Johnson suggested last week that isolation could be ended in England from March.
It comes as Mr Johnson lifted Plan B measures in England, including scrapping work from home guidance and mandatory face masks.
Ms Kerkhove said: “I think it’s premature. I think there needs to be a clear reason of why it’s being dropped.
“If you don’t isolate cases then the virus will spread between people.”
When asked whether the end of the pandemic is in sight for the countries in Europe, Dr David Nabarro, the World Health Organisation’s special envoy for Covid-19, said on Monday: “The end is in sight, but how long is it going to take to get there?
“What sort of difficulties will we face on the way? Those are the questions that none of us can answer because this virus continues to give us challenges and surprises.”
He told Sky News: “It’s as though we’re just passing the halfway mark in a marathon and we can see that yes, there is an end and fast runners are getting through ahead of us.
“But we’ve still got a long, long way to trudge and it’s going to be tough.”
