Europe is already entering a new wave of COVID-19, according to a joint statement released on Wednesday from the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Control.
"We are unfortunately seeing indicators rising again in Europe, suggesting that another wave of infections has begun," Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, and Dr. Andrea Ammon, director of the ECDC, wrote.
Weekly reported cases in Europe started to rise in September, according to the most recent regional data for Europe from the WHO’s COVID-19 dashboard. During the week ending on Sep. 4, Europe recorded 1.14 million new cases and during the week ending on Oct. 2, weekly cases were just over 1.79 million.
"There is an uptick in most countries in Europe, certainly in Germany and Italy," Dr. Jennifer Lighter, pediatric infectious disease specialist at NYU Langone told TODAY. The new wave may be concerning, but it's not entirely surprising. "We do expect that (COVID-19) will eventually go into an endemic seasonal pattern that would spike in the winter," Lighter added.