WHO Director-General for Europe Hans Kluge said on Thursday that further measures were needed to “flatten the steep vertical line” of growing cases in some countries.
While the variant seems to spread more easily than others, there is no evidence that it is more deadly or that it causes more severe diseases.
Health officials have also downplayed the possibility that coronavirus vaccines may not work against the variant.
But in the UK, health workers are struggling with a sharp rise in cases and deaths. The country recorded 1,041 deaths on Wednesday, as well as 62,322 new cases.
Kluge, speaking during a news briefing, said that the British version has now been detected in 22 countries in the WHO European region.
“It is our view that this concern may, over time, replace other current lines as seen in the UK and increasingly in Denmark,” Kluge said.
With increased transmissibility and a similar severity of the disease, however, the variant creates alarm: without increased control to slow the spread, there will be an increased impact on already stressed and pressurized health units.
“This is an alarming situation, which means that for a short time we need to do more than we have done and step up social and social health measures to make sure we can smooth the steep vertical line in some countries,” Kluge said. added.
Kluge then called on countries “to alleviate this burden by doing everything they can to reduce transmission and increase vigilance to identify any new variants.”
A number of European nations are currently blocked or have imposed strict Covid-19 measures, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Greece.