Europe currently accounts for half of the world’s coronavirus cases, Germany Italy and Spain have seen thousands of deaths in recent weeks and are the worst hit countries.
It is feared that civil unrest is about to “explode at any moment” as the largest cities across Europe are struggling with either no or low incomes due to the pandemic, a Red Cross chief has warned.
Many countries across Europe are having lockdowns extended, particularly in Spain and Italy as the cases are rapidly climbing.
Francesco Rocca, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) told a United Nations (UN) news briefing, “We have a lot of people who are living very marginalised, in the so-called black hole of society.
“In the most difficult neighbourhoods of the biggest cities I am afraid that in a few weeks we will have social problems.
“This is a social bomb that can explode at any moment, because they don’t have any way to have an income.”
Rocca said that many tens of thousands of people have been adversely affected by the coronavirus lockdowns.
As a result of the lockdowns millions of families across Europe have either seen a fall in their income or are reliant on state benefits. The Red Cross chief warned that civil unrest is “weeks” away.
Government officials have warned that stricter social distancing measures are set to happen from next month.