Renewed virus waves cast clouds over the recovery

COVID-19 outbreaks have surged across the region in the past month. Record high daily cases have been reported in Russia, Romania, Bulgaria and Latvia and infections are rising sharply elsewhere. Governments have tightened containment measures, including a four-week lockdown in Latvia and closures of hospitality services in Russia. 40-60% of people in most countries have received two vaccine doses, but rollouts have slowed and the spread of a new, highly transmissible subvariant (so-called “Delta plus”) highlights that much higher vaccine coverage is needed to supress outbreaks on a sustainable basis. Most countries are unlikely to follow Israel’s lead in rolling out booster jabs quickly and it is likely that governments will tighten restrictions further in the coming weeks. This will add to the headwinds from surging inflation and supply disruptions in industry and provides another reason to think that GDP growth will slow in Q4.