Europe COVID-19 death tolls soars as families struggle with grief

London, January 14 (RHC)-- Across Europe the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths are soaring.  The World Health Organization had predicted the winter months were going to be tough, but with new variants of the virus making it more transmissible and lockdown fatigue setting in, the experts are urging vigilance.

The COVID-19 pandemic is taking thousands of lives every day and families everywhere are struggling to find closure.  No visitations before loved ones die, and new burial rituals are taking their toll.

In parts of Greece victims are being buried away from their loved ones in separate plots.  In Italy and Germany, crematoriums are struggling to cope with the sheer number of grieving families and an overwhelming number of bodies.  The dead must be handled with protective clothing and masks and according to the head of this crematorium, the number of deaths this winter is 20 times any flu wave.

The World Health Organization predicted a tough winter, with the COVID-19 pandemic and flu season overlapping. But experts say this recent surge in cases and deaths is due in part to families mixing.  Several vaccines are now being administered across the globe. In Europe rollouts got off to a shaky start but are now picking up pace.

The UK was the first to start inoculating the most vulnerable and 2.3 million Britons have already got the jab, but experts say it will take until autumn for everyone to get it.

During this, the UK’s third lockdown, the police are cracking down on people breaking the rules.  The statistics show more people are out and about now than during the previous lockdowns, while hospitals cope with double the number of cases as the new variant of the virus blazes through the population.