THE UK is among a handful of countries singled out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for having “tempered” the “positive signs” that Europe is passing the peak of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Dr Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said that while there have been “optimistic signs” in countries worst affected by coronavirus, others, such as the UK, demonstrated “sustained or increased levels of incidents”.
The UK was one of a handful of countries (listed alongside Turkey and Russia) he singled-out for providing an antidote to optimism elsewhere among the 53 members in the WHO’s European region.
Latest figures from the Department of Health said a total of 12,868 patients died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Tuesday – an increase of 761 on the previous day – with the UK braced for an announcement on the extension of lockdown rules later yesterday (Thursday).