[Comment] Offline: Complacency threatens progress against COVID-19

Hans Kluge, WHO’s Regional Director for Europe, has been reported as saying that European nations could soon be entering a “long period of tranquillity” as the pandemic abates. Pointing out that mortality from COVID-19 seemed to be plateauing, he suggested the continent was approaching a “plausible endgame” and an “enduring peace”. As WHO’s chief spokesperson for the 53 countries that make up his regional responsibility, Kluge was no doubt seeking to strike an optimistic and encouraging note. But it is disappointing that he took such a narrow geographical perspective about a global pandemic.

[Comment] Accelerating Indigenous health and wellbeing: the Lancet Commission on Arctic and Northern Health

Arctic Indigenous communities and adjacent Indigenous peoples considered Northern or Circumpolar in distribution recognised the threat posed by COVID-19 to their communities. Despite inhabiting many of the world’s most resourced countries, the health of Arctic Indigenous peoples lags behind their non-Indigenous counterparts across many indicators,1,2 and many communities remember the devastating consequences of the 1918–19 influenza pandemic on their communities.3 Swift action by Arctic Indigenous leaders limited COVID-19 cases in many communities, protecting their vulnerable groups from the worst outcomes seen in some other Indigenous communities globally.

[Comment] Offline: Complacency threatens progress against COVID-19

Hans Kluge, WHO’s Regional Director for Europe, has been reported as saying that European nations could soon be entering a “long period of tranquillity” as the pandemic abates. Pointing out that mortality from COVID-19 seemed to be plateauing, he suggested the continent was approaching a “plausible endgame” and an “enduring peace”. As WHO’s chief spokesperson for the 53 countries that make up his regional responsibility, Kluge was no doubt seeking to strike an optimistic and encouraging note. But it is disappointing that he took such a narrow geographical perspective about a global pandemic.