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ECDC: Cyprus and all of Western Europe in the deep red

31/12/2021 09:49

All regions in Western Europe are now in the deep red category, according to the latest epidemiological map on the spread of COVID-19 by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The epidemiological situation has slightly improved in some countries in Eastern and Central Europe compared to last week. However, due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, most countries remain in the red and deep red category.

The ECDC map does not record the number of deaths or hospitalisation, or the levels of vaccination, but only the number of new cases per 100 thousand people over the past 14 days. The map also does not account for the number of cases caused by the Omicron variant.

The entirety of Spain is now in the deep red category. The epidemiological situation has also worsened in Italy, where certain areas had been in the orange category last week. This week, southern Italy and Sardinia are in the red category and northern Italy is in the deep red category. Malta has also switched from the red to the deep red category.

Several areas have however switched from the deep red to the red category: the entirety of Latvia, large parts of western and southern Germany as well as some regions in eastern Hungary, almost the entirety of Austria, a part of eastern Poland as well as Thrace in eastern Greece.

Cyprus remains in the deep red category for another week, together with Portugal, France, Ireland, Iceland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Lichtenstein, Czechia, Slovakia, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Croatia.

Bulgaria as well as most areas in Norway, Sweden and Finland remain in the red category.

The epidemiological situation in Romania remains the best in the European Union and the European Economic Area for another week, since most of its regions are in the orange category. Southwester Romania is in the green or safe category. However, the country’s capital Bucharest remains in the red category.

Orange zone areas are defined as the areas where the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate is below 50 and the test positivity rate of tests for COVID-19 infection is 4% or more, or the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate is between 50 and 75 and the test positivity rate is 1% or more, or the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate is between 75 and 200 and the test positivity rate is lower than 4%.

Red zone areas are defined as the areas where the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate ranges from 75 to 200 and the test positivity rate of tests for COVID-19 infection is 4% or more, or the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate is more than 200 but less than 500 (when the cumulative rate exceeds 500 the area enters the “deep red” zone).

ECDC publishes relevant maps and data every Thursday, in support of the Council recommendation on a coordinated approach to the restriction of free movement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The maps are based on data reported by the Member States to the European Surveillance System (TESSy) by midnight on Tuesday.