The resurgence of COVID-19 in several European nations is concerning the World Health Organization (WHO), which says it should serve as a "wake-up call" for the rest of the globe.
Just last week, nearly 300,000 COVID-19 cases were detected in Europe, an increase of 8 percent on the week before and more than what was being recorded at in March when the virus peaked in the continent.
While increased testing is likely behind some of the increase in cases, WHO regional director Hans Kluge says there are "alarming rates of transmission across the region".
"We have a very serious situation unfolding before us," he said on Friday.
"In June cases hit an all-time low. The September case numbers, however, should serve as a wake-up call for all of us."
Among the nations seeing resurgences are Spain - which on Wednesday recorded 11,193 cases compared to its March peak of 10,858 - and France, which on Saturday had 10,561 cases compared to 7578 at its peak in March.
However, while case totals are seeing big jumps, the number of hospital admissions and deaths across the continent remain steady at the same rate as seen in June.
A larger proportion of the new cases are younger people, who are less vulnerable to the disease and less likely to require hospital-level care. Medical professionals have also learnt much more about the virus and how to treat it since March.
In response to the jump in cases, countries have been reapplying restrictions. For example, the United Kingdom this week introduced a social gathering limit of six, while other nations have also tightened their social distancing rules.
"We have fought it back before and we can fight it back again," Kluge said.
However, the WHO has also warned governments that cases and deaths could continue to rise over the coming months as the northern-hemisphere countries enter winter and have to deal with influenza at the same time.
