Up to half of the people who died in Europe from the coronavirus were in nursing homes, a World Health Organization official said Thursday.
Dr. Hans Kluge, who is the agency’s Europe director, said a “deeply concerning picture” was emerging that showed the impact on nursing homes of the dangerous virus, which has killed than 110,000 Europeans, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Kluge noted that the care at these facilities has “often been notoriously neglected” with employees overworked and underpaid.
He said these workers have been the “unsung heroes” of the pandemic, which has caused an “unimaginable tragedy” in the facilities.
The WHO official noted that the crisis appeared to be stabilizing in some regions, but the battle with the virus was far from over.
More than 1.1 million Europeans have become infected by the virus with Spain, Italy and Germany being among the hardest hit, according to the ECDC.
With Post wires
