Spike in European deaths since March linked to Covid-19, says WHO official

“This gives us a very good indication that a very significant proportion of this excess deaths is linked and due to Covid-19, ” a WHO emergency official said.

About 159,000 more people in 24 European countries have died since early March than would have ordinarily been expected, a World Health Organization official said on Thursday, adding a “significant proportion” of the spike is linked to Covid-19.

People wearing a face mask and shield walk across the Vittorio Emanuele II shopping mall in Milan on May 18, 2020 during the country's lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection, caused by the novel coronavirus. (AFP)

“What we have seen very clearly is that the peak in excess mortality corresponds in those countries to the peak of the transmission of Covid-19,” Katie Smallwood, a WHO emergency official, told reporters. “This gives us a very good indication that a very significant proportion of this excess deaths is linked and due to Covid-19.”