WHO says Europe heading for coronavirus pandemic "endgame"

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WHO says Europe heading for coronavirus pandemic "endgame" (Image: Pixabay)
WHO says Europe heading for coronavirus pandemic "endgame" (Image: Pixabay)

New Delhi : The Omicron variant of coronavirus in Europe has moved the Covid-19 pandemic into a new phase and could bring it to an end, the WHO Europe director said on Sunday.

"It's plausible that the region is moving towards a kind of pandemic endgame," Hans Kluge told news agency AFP in an interview, adding that Omicron could infect 60 percent of Europeans by March.

Once the current surge of Omicron currently sweeping across Europe subsides, "there will be for quite some weeks and months a global immunity, either thanks to the vaccine or because people have immunity due to the infection, and also lowering seasonality."

"We anticipate that there will be a period of quiet before Covid-19 may come back towards the end of the year, but not necessarily the pandemic coming back," Kluge said.

Meanwhile, US scientist Anthony Fauci has shared similar thoughts on the current coronavirus situation in Europe. 

He told ABC News talk show "This Week" that with Covid-19 cases coming down "rather sharply" in parts of the United States, "things are looking good".

The WHO regional office for Africa also mentioned last week that new cases of coronavirus infections have declined and so as the deaths related to it. 

Earlier, WHO had categorized Omicron as the variant of concern.