Merci poster
© AFP/Damien Meyer
Poster in Rennes, France • November 2, 2020
With Europe already suffering a second wave of coronavirus infections, World Health Organization envoy David Nabarro has warned that the region could see another spike in infections next year.

In an interview on Saturday with Swiss newspaper Solothurner Zeitung, Nabarro said that European governments failed to build up the "necessary infrastructure" to keep the virus under control after the first wave of infections this spring. "Now we have the second wave. If they don't build the necessary infrastructure, we'll have a third wave early next year."

Infections are once again surging throughout Europe, after a lull this summer. France and Germany recorded some 33,000 new cases combined on Saturday, while the UK reported nearly 20,000 cases on the same day, and Spain announced more than 15,000 on Friday. Deaths remain proportionally lower throughout Europe than during the first wave, however.

Despite Nabarro's stark prediction, the WHO has cautioned against responding too heavy-handedly to the pandemic. In a briefing on Thursday, the organization's European director, Hans Kluge, called for "systematic and general mask-wearing" and "strict controls on social gatherings," but described national lockdowns as a "last resort" policy.