“Right now, in the face of a continued threat and new uncertainty, we need to continue to exercise caution, and rethink or avoid international travel,” Hans Kluge said, adding that “pockets of increasing transmission” on the continent could quickly spread. The so-called Indian variant, which may be more transmissible, has now been identified in at least 26 of the 53 countries in the WHO Europe region, Kluge said during his weekly press conference.

The UN Security Council called on Wednesday for accelerated availability of Covid-19 vaccines for Africa, expressing concern that the continent has only received about 2% of all vaccines administered globally.