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The second wave of Covid cases in Europe is not causing a spike in deaths compared to the spring spike
- The difference can be explained by the increase in country testing in recent months
- But it could also be a sign that the virus is primarily infecting younger, healthier people.
- Blockade-free Sweden still has significantly lower rates than the rest of Europe
A second wave of coronavirus cases in Europe is not causing an increase in deaths.
Although cases in Spain have soared to almost 15,000 a day, leading to a new lockdown in parts of Madrid, the number of deaths remains relatively low compared to the peak in spring.
There were 240 deaths in Spain on Thursday, well below the 929 daily deaths reached at the end of March, when 9,000 cases were recorded a day.
A graph shows how the number of deaths in Spain has not increased with the number of positive cases
A graph shows how the number of deaths in France has not increased with the number of positive cases
A graph shows how the number of deaths in Sweden has not increased with the number of positive cases
In France, another 13,498 cases were reported yesterday. But the latest 24-hour death toll, 154 on Friday, is much lower than in mid-April, when there were 1,400 deaths but 5,500 confirmed cases.
The difference can be explained by an increase in testing across countries in recent months, but it could also be a sign that the virus is primarily infecting younger, healthier people surviving the disease.
Sweden, which did not impose a lockdown, continues to have a significantly lower rate of Covid-19 cases and deaths.
On Tuesday, Sweden had its fewest new cases since March. In April, single-day Covid deaths in Sweden peaked at 115. Now, some days, that number is zero.
Reported infections have risen steadily in most of Europe over the past two months, and more than half of the countries have seen an increase of more than ten percent in the past two weeks.
