ＷＨＯ地域トップ、欧州でのコロナ感染「爆発」を警告　ＡＦＰ独占取材

【コペンハーゲンＡＦＰ＝時事】世界保健機関（WHO）のハンス・クルーゲ欧州地域事務局長は5日、AFPのインタビューに対し、欧州で新型コロナウイルス感染の「爆発」が起きつつあるとの見方を示した。死者数も増加していることから、この先「厳しい時期」を迎えることになると警鐘を鳴らしている。（写真は仏パリ近郊の病院で、集中治療室に入院中の新型コロナウイルス感染症＜COVID-19＞患者のケアをする看護師）
　クルーゲ氏は「たった数日間で欧州地域の感染者数が１００万人増えたという点で」「われわれは爆発を目撃している」と述べた。
　さらに、死亡率が「少しずつ」上昇しているように見えるとして、「いささか厳しい時期が来るだろう。その点について、われわれは正直にならなければならない」と語った。
　一方、教育活動については「学校が主な感染経路となっているといえる証拠はない」と述べ、学校の閉鎖は最後の手段とするべきだと主張。その理由として、「新型コロナウイルス感染症（ＣＯＶＩＤ-１９）による失われた世代を生み出すわけにはいかない」と訴えた。
　同時に、クルーゲ氏は「現状維持は選択肢ではない」とも強調。各国政府が取るべき対応として、「首尾一貫性を保ち、方針がころころ変わると国民に思われないようにする」ことと、「予見可能性を高め、一定の水準に達したら次に何が起こるかを国民に知らせる」ことの２点を挙げた。また、あらゆる場面でのマスク着用を呼び掛けた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/11/09-12:48）

The World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe on Thursday said it was seeing an explosion of coronavirus cases in the region and warned of a tough time ahead as mortality rates rose.
We do see an explosion.... in the sense it only takes a couple of days to have over the European region an increase of one million cases, WHO's regional director for Europe Hans Kluge told AFP.
Kluge, who was wearing a mask even as he was interviewed over a webcam meeting, also said the mortality rate could be seen rising little by little.
It's going to be a little bit of a tough time, we need to be honest on that, he said.
In spite of the rapidly rising cases, Kluge cautioned that closing schools should be seen as a last resort, especially in light of there being no reasons to say that schools are a main driver of the transmission.
We need to keep the schools open really until last because we cannot afford a Covid-19 lost generation, Kluge said.
However the regional director also said that the status quo is not an option and called for proportionate targeted measures, which could be scaled up.
Kluge stressed that governments should take into account two things: coherence, so people see that we don't flip-flop, and... predictability, so people know if this threshold is being reached, this is what is going to happen.
He also called for the widespread use of face masks.
With general mask wearing and strict control of social gatherings we can save 266,000 lives by February in the whole European region, Kluge said.
WHO Europe spans 53 countries, including Russia and countries in Central Asia, and on Thursday reported a total of over 12 million cases in the region, with nearly two million in the last seven days.
While managing the Covid-19 pandemic was the immediate concern, Kluge also said there were lessons to learn in case an even more dangerous virus were to appear.
Imagine that Covid was as easily transmitted as measles, or imagine that Covid was as lethal as Ebola... We need to take this chance to be better prepared for the future, Kluge said.