Coronavirus: Europe unprepared as new wave of COVID-19 hits

Europe's second wave of coronavirus infections has struck well before the flu season even started, with intensive care wards filling up again and bars shut down. 

Making matters worse, authorities say, is a widespread case of "Covid-fatigue."

Record high daily infections in several eastern European countries and sharp rebounds in the hard-hit west have made clear that Europe never really crushed the Covid-19 curve as hoped, after springtime lockdowns.

"When the state of alarm was abandoned, it was time to invest in prevention, but that hasn’t been done," lamented Margarita del Val, viral immunology expert with the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center, part of Spain's top research body, CSIC.

"We are in the fall wave without having resolved the summer wave," she said.

Experts say Europe's high infection rate is due in large part to expanded testing that is turning up far more asymptomatic positives than during the first wave when only the sick could get a test.

But the trend is nevertheless alarming, given the flu season hasn't even begun, schools are open for in-person learning and the cold weather hasn’t yet driven Europeans indoors, where infection can spread more easily.

"We're seeing 98,000 cases reported in the last 24 hours. That’s a new regional record. That's very alarming," said Robb Butler, executive director of the WHO’s Europe regional office. While part of that is due to increased testing, "It’s also worrisome in terms of virus resurgence."