German And U.K. Officials Warn Of A Possible New COVID-19 Wave In Europe

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Parts of the EU are at risk of a new wave of coronavirus cases, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says. The bloc began lifting many internal border restrictions last month. Here, airline passengers walk out of a Departures area last Wednesday at Gatwick Airport, south of London.

Matt Dunham/AP

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Matt Dunham/AP

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A graphic shows lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the EU and the U.K., as of July 28. German and U.K. officials warn that the region could be seeing a second wave.

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

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European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

A graphic shows lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the EU and the U.K., as of July 28. German and U.K. officials warn that the region could be seeing a second wave.

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

The U.K. currently has more than 300,000 coronavirus cases – the most in Europe. Spain is close behind, with nearly 280,000 cases. Germany has around 207,000 cases.

While the EU’s most populous countries such as Germany, France and the U.K. are reporting case rates at or below 16 people per 100,000 people over the past 14 days, many of their close neighbors continue to struggle. Sweden’s rate of new cases is nearly 35 per 100,000 people; Belgium’s is nearly 30. Both Bulgaria and Portugal are reporting high rates – and Romania’s is among the worst in the EU, at 66.7.

The EU has roughly 116 million more people than the U.S. Taken along with the U.K., the European bloc is currently reporting nearly 1.7 million coronavirus cases — far less than the more than 4.3 million cases confirmed in the U.S.

• COVID-19