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Even so, the expert stressed that “the epidemiological situation in the countries is not the same now” that occurred six months ago, at the height of the covid-19 pandemic in Europe.
This is because, according to Andrea Ammon, the notification rate “depends on several factors”, with “the most relevant number of tests being performed”, an area in which there was also an increase, with more detections and follow-up. .
But despite the increase in the number of tests, what the ECDC verified was that “there really were more infections” in recent days, according to the director of this European center, who justified it with the total number of positive cases among the population analyzed. .
Andrea Ammon also reiterated that at the beginning of August “the youngest people were the most affected”, which was demonstrated by the low number of hospitalizations in Europe.
However, this situation has changed: “Now we see that the older population is being more affected, which shows an increase in infections.”
The ECDC director also said that “there is no homogeneous picture in the EU” about the pandemic.
These statements are similar to those of the deputy director of the ECDC disease program, Piotr Kramarz, who in an interview with the Lusa agency published in the past said that Europe is facing, at two speeds, the covid-19 pandemic, with some countries. already experiencing resurgence of the virus, while others did not even leave the first wave.
“What we are seeing is an increase in the number of cases […]. These numbers are increasing in many countries, they have been increasing in different periods of time, but definitely [mais] in recent weeks ”, contextualized Piotr Kramarz, referring to the sharp increases, in recent weeks, in the number of daily cases in countries such as Italy, Spain, France and Germany, which were the most affected since the start of the pandemic in Europe .
According to the scientist, however, it cannot be said that this is already the second wave of the new coronavirus in Europe: “Some countries have probably not even come out of the first wave, while others have had a reduction in the number of cases and , now they are seeing an increase ”.
Piotr Kramarz emphasized, however, that the increase in the number of cases may not always mean the reappearance of covid-19, as it may be related to the increase in testing.
