Top WHO official: 'Europe is in a COVID-19 ceasefire'

A top official in the World Health Organization (WHO) believes that Europe could soon enter a "long period of tranquility" from COVID-19 due to high vaccination rates, the milder Omicron variant and the end of winter.

"This period of higher protection should be seen as a ceasefire that could bring us enduring peace", WHO Europe director Hans Kluge told reporters on Thursday, according to AFP.

(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)