About whether Europe is threatened by a new wave of pandemics, writes DW.

With the onset of summer, a new wave of coronavirus is expected, caused by "Omicron" -variant and its new forms.

The growing number of infected in Europe overshadows the prospects of the holiday season.

According to the statistics site Our World in Data, the number of coronavirus infections is increasing significantly in Portugal, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Experts justify this growth with new variants of the virus - BA.4 and BA.5, which are more contagious than the previous ones.

In addition, doctors refer to the abolished restrictive measures.

What awaits Europe in these conditions?

Has Portugal withstood a new wave of pandemics

Portugal has been battling an increase in infections since mid-May.

The country still has the highest weekly rate of registered infections in Europe.

Omicron's new variant, BA.5, has caused a new wave of coronavirus spread.

90% of detected cases in Portugal are now caused by this type of virus.

Along with the weekly indicator of infection in Portugal, mortality has risen.

According to Our World in Data, the country has the highest mortality rate among all Western European countries.

Despite the large number of patients, hospitals in Portugal are not overcrowded.

The country has a high level of vaccination - 87 percent of the population is vaccinated.

In addition, the new form of "Omicron" is considered more contagious than the previous ones, but no more dangerous.

The number of diseases in Portugal has been declining again since the beginning of June.

A special agency under the Portuguese Ministry of Health Insa believes that the peak of infections has already been reached and that their wave is declining.

Experts warn of a new wave of "Omicron" in Europe

Since mid-June, the number of infected in France is rapidly increasing.

According to official data, the weekly incidence rate is now about 477 per 100,000 inhabitants (as of June 18).

"The epidemic curve in France is exponential," warned Antoine Flea, an epidemiologist and head of the Institute of Global Health at the Medical School of the University of Geneva.

It seems that a new wave will cause variants of "Omicron" BA.4 and BA.5, said Flao in an interview with news channel franceinfo.

However, while Flao can not accurately predict how the situation will develop in France.

While South Africa has gone through a new wave of coronavirus in eight weeks, Fliao estimates that in Portugal it will take nine to ten weeks.

"If we extrapolate the situation in Portugal to France, we will be dealing with a new wave for most of the summer," said Flea.

"We haven't learned the lesson yet"

As in France, in Germany the weekly incidence rate per 100,000 population is well over 400. The Robert Koch Institute announced on June 22 about 119,000 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours.

Probably BA.4 and BA.5 are also to blame.

But, according to RKI Deputy Chief Lars Shaadze, the lifting of safeguards also contributes to the deterioration of the coronavirus situation.

"This is not the case when we can face this summer wave carefree and without countermeasures," said German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.

It is betting on further protection measures planned for the fall, such as another major vaccination campaign.

At the same time, according to Lauterbach, there is no reason to panic.

The situation in southern Europe

Meanwhile, in Greece and Italy, according to the weekly indicator of the disease, the number of newly infected also jumped sharply.

In Italy, it is growing for the second week in a row, and the rate of transmission of the virus has again reached epidemic proportions, according to the Italian Ministry of Health.

"This is our third summer pandemic, and we still haven't learned a lesson," complains Walter Ricardo, Italy's former health minister, in an interview with ADNKronos.

Spain has not yet seen such a significant increase in the number of infected as in other European countries.

There are officially registered cases of coronavirus only in persons over 60 years.

According to the latest report from the Ministry of Health, the national weekly rate in this age group is about 302 (as of June 17).

In mid-June, variants of Omicron VA.4 and VA.5 accounted for more than 10 percent of positive tests.

In Northern and Eastern Europe, "Omicron" is still small

While the incidence of COVID is increasing in some countries of Southern and Western Europe, in the north and east of the continent the rates still remain low.

According to Our World in Data, these countries also have a small increase in disease, but it is still incomparable with other European countries.

In Sweden, for example, in mid-June, about 1,900 COVID cases per week were reported, and in Poland, according to official data, 285 per day.

In Denmark, where the number of cases is also still small, Prime Minister Matt Frederiksen announced on June 22 that people over the age of 50 would be offered a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

The number of infections, she said, was growing faster than expected, and the "omicron" version of BA.5 has already become the dominant type of virus in the country.