WHO blames Eurocup for rising covid-19 infections

(Reuters) – Fans who flock to Euro 2020 football stadiums and bars and pubs in host cities are causing the current rise in coronavirus infections in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

According to the WHO, the 10-week decline in new coronavirus infections across the region has come to an end and a new wave of infections is inevitable if soccer fans and others let their guard down.

Last week, the number of new cases increased by 10%, driven by the mixing of fans in the host cities of Euro 2020, travel and the relaxation of social restrictions, the WHO said.

“We have to look far beyond the stadiums themselves,” Catherine Smallwood, WHO’s head of emergencies, told reporters.

“We have to see how people get to the stadiums, if they travel in large crowded bus convoys. And when they leave the stadiums, do they go to crowded bars and pubs to watch the games?”

“It is these small, continuous events that drive the spread of the virus,” Smallwood said.

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer called the decision by European football’s governing body UEFA to allow large crowds at Euro 2020 as “absolutely irresponsible.”

UEFA said in a statement to Reuters that mitigation measures at the venues “are fully aligned with the regulations set by the competent local public health authorities.”

The rise in new cases of COVID-19 comes as the most contagious variant of the delta virus is rapidly spreading across Europe.

Nearly 2,000 people living in Scotland have attended a Euro 2020 event being infected with COVID-19, with many attending the group stage match against England in London on June 18, authorities reported Wednesday Scottish.

Rising infections have raised concerns that a third wave could sweep across Europe in the autumn if people don’t get vaccinated.

“The concern of an autumn surge is still there, but what we see now is that it could come even sooner,” Smallwood said.