Major Cover-Up! Europe Currently Has More COVID-19 Infections and Hospitalization Than the Same Period Last Year!
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Sep 05, 2025 2 hours, 47 minutes ago
Medical News: What the latest numbers really show
Fresh data compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO) and European health agencies indicate that Europe is now facing higher COVID-19 test positivity, more new cases, and more hospitalizations than the same August period last year—even as many governments and media channels remain notably quiet. In the week of 11–17 August 2025, Europe’s laboratory test positivity for SARS-CoV-2 climbed to 19%, up from 17% just a week earlier and clearly above the 16% recorded in mid-August 2024. That uptick signals more virus circulating and more people testing positive across the region.
Major Cover-Up! Europe Currently Has More COVID-19 Infections and Hospitalization Than the Same Period Last Year
When you zoom out to the rolling 28-day window ending 17 August 2025, Europe reported 35,631 newly confirmed cases—far more than the 22,890 cases logged in the previous 28-day period that ended 20 July 2025, and also above many mid-summer baselines seen last year. this
Medical News report draws on WHO’s integrated “Circulation,” “Cases,” and “Severity” dashboards, which aggregate virologic surveillance, case notifications, and severe-disease indicators from national public-health institutes across the continent.
Hospitalizations and ICU admissions are rising
The strain is most clearly seen in hospitals. In the 28 days from 21 July to 17 August 2025, Europe recorded roughly 4,500 new COVID-19 hospital admissions—up from about 3,500 in the previous 28-day period. That is a one-third jump in new hospitalizations within a single month. ICU admissions also rose to 83 in that same 28-day window, up from 66 previously, indicating a growing number of severe cases. The WHO notes that among countries consistently reporting these indicators, a notable share in the Americas and Europe show increasing trends.
Deaths remain lower than earlier phases of the pandemic but are not negligible: Europe reported 164 COVID-19 deaths in the 28 days to 17 August 2025, up from 121 in the prior 28-day period, with older adults carrying the greatest burden.
These patterns reinforce what clinicians have been warning—COVID-19 has not vanished; it adapts and resurges seasonally and with new lineages.
Real Time Excess Deaths Rates Not Available.
Interestingly, real time updated data on excess deaths by the month or even weekly are not available for most countries in the Europe region and many health authorities are deploying a variety of strategies besides delayed reporting to conceal these figures! Many doctors are reporting that they are witnessing an increase in deaths caused by heart failures, strokes, and other organ failures besides also deaths caused by sepsis and cancer
Variants fueling the surge
So what is driving the summer rise? WHO’s variant monitoring shows the lineage
XFG expanded rapidly through July and early August 2025, accounting for about two-thirds (67%) of sequences submitted globally in the week ending 10 August. Another lineage, NB.1.8.1, declined from 29% to 22% over the same period. At the regional level, XFG grew in the European Region during July–August, while NB.1.8.1 trended downward. Importantly, WHO’s risk readouts say these variants do not appear to pose additional public-health risk compared with other circulating strains—but higher transmissibility can still push up infections, hospitalizations, and deaths when population immunity wanes.
National snapshots align with that picture. For example, the UK Health Security Agency reported XFG and its sub-lineages rising among sequenced samples through late July and early August. These country-level signals complement WHO’s European roll-up.
Europe versus last year: the comparison that matters
Multiple WHO time-series make the year-over-year comparison straightforward. In mid-August 2024, Europe’s test positivity sat at 16%. In mid-August 2025, it is 19%. That is a clear increase. Likewise, Europe’s 28-day newly reported cases jumped to 35,631 by 17 August 2025, versus lower plateaus earlier in the summer and many countries reporting >10% increases. Hospitalizations and ICU admissions have also moved upward compared to the previous 28-day period, underscoring that this is not just a testing artifact—it reflects more people becoming significantly ill.
Why aren’t governments sounding the alarm?
There are several reasons. First, many countries reduced routine COVID-19 reporting after 2023, which blunts public visibility. Second, policymakers often prioritize messaging that avoids panic, particularly during tourist season. Third, COVID-19 now co-circulates with influenza and RSV, and many health ministries prefer integrated respiratory briefings rather than COVID-only bulletins. The European Respiratory Virus Surveillance Summary (ERVISS)—run jointly by ECDC and WHO/Europe—publishes weekly dashboards covering influenza, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2 together. While this is epidemiologically sensible, it can make COVID-19’s individual trends feel less urgent to the public.
What ordinary people should do now
You do not need to be a scientist to apply simple, effective steps:
• If you are older or have underlying health conditions, consider using a high-filtration mask in crowded indoor spaces while regional positivity and hospital admissions are rising.
• Stay home if you are sick and seek testing early, especially if you are eligible for antivirals.
• Ventilate indoor spaces and consider portable air cleaners during gatherings.
These are the same common-sense measures that reduce spread and protect the most vulnerable.
The bottom line
The summer snapshot is unambiguous: Europe’s COVID-19 situation in mid-August 2025 is hotter than the same time last year. Test positivity is higher (19% versus 16% last August), newly reported cases over the latest 28-day window are elevated, and hospitalizations and ICU admissions are increasing in multiple countries that consistently report to WHO. Variants like XFG are circulating widely, and even without evidence of greater intrinsic severity, a fast-spreading virus can still push more people into hospitals when community immunity dips. Public health agencies are publishing the numbers, but reduced media emphasis and integrated dashboards can make the trend less visible—until it shows up in emergency rooms.
Conclusions
Europe is not in the clear. Compared with the same August period last year, the region now shows higher test positivity and rising severe-disease indicators. The evidence comes from routine sentinel and systematic surveillance coordinated by WHO/Europe and ECDC, and it is consistent with country reports. Policymakers may avoid alarmist messaging, but the data are plain: COVID-19 continues to cycle, spread, and strain hospitals when conditions favor it. People and providers should prepare for a busier autumn respiratory season by refreshing vaccine protection where recommended, improving ventilation, and protecting older adults and those with chronic conditions.
References:
https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/summary
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/european-respiratory-virus-surveillance-summary-erviss
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2025-to-2026-season/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-report-28-august-2025-week-35
For the latest COVID-19, keep on logging to Thailand
Medical News.
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/alarming-covid-19-rise-with-1000-new-infections-in-moldova-due-to-new-xfg-variant
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-cases-rising-in-latvia-with-warnings-of-worse-to-come
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-cases-rising-in-latvia-with-warnings-of-worse-to-come
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