"This is not the time to relax," WHO director-general for Europe, Hans Kluge, said during an online press conference.

At the beginning of autumn, the European region, which brings together 53 countries, including some in Central Asia, is again the epicenter of the epidemic, accounting for 60% of Covid-19 cases in the world.

At the same time, a spike in seasonal flu cases was recorded.

With this new wave of covid-19, deaths and hospitalizations in intensive care cases are increasing only slightly, said the same source, underlining the relationship with vaccination.

"Vaccination remains one of the most effective mechanisms against influenza and Covid-19," he added.