A "tough" six months lies ahead for Europe, which is again the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
Hans Kluge, WHO Europe director, said the continent had recorded more than 29,000 new Covid-19 deaths last week.
However, he said new cases were declining as lockdowns curb infections.
And at a virtual summit on Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc could approve two vaccines by year's end.
Most European countries reintroduced tight restrictions to stem the spread of the disease as a second wave of the pandemic gathered pace in October.
So far, Europe has seen 15,738,179 confirmed infections and 354,154 deaths attributed to the coronavirus, with only the Americas reporting higher region-wide figures, according to WHO data.
