Several regions of Europe are going into isolation this week, due to the second wave of Covid-19. The intention is to prevent a collapse in hospitals due to the increase in cases in the last week.
During the summer, European leaders tried to strike a balance between protecting public health and recovering the economy. But in a region that has seen more than 220,000 deaths from covid-19, they are now forced to implement more severe measures to curb a spike in infections that threatens to be even worse than in the early phase of the pandemic in the spring.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced this Saturday that the United Kingdom you will go into confinement that may last longer than the four weeks that are expected if infection rates for the new coronavirus do not fall fast enough. The confinement should take effect between this Thursday and December 2nd.
In Italy, the original epicenter of the pandemic in Europe, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte faces resistance from regional governors to ‘mini-confinements’ for the cities most affected by the pandemic. Italy has already established a curfew at 11 pm, closed gyms, swimming pools and entertainment venues. Conte warned that keeping schools open will be a challenge.
On Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will hold a press conference this Monday, has pledged to do “whatever is necessary” to help mitigate the impact on the economy of the partial confinement that goes into effect this Monday. The new measures provide for limiting circulation, closing bars, restaurants and hotels.
In the neighbor Austria, a partial confinement will take effect from this Tuesday, similar to that of Germany. Essential schools and stores will remain open. The measures announced by the Austrian Government this Saturday include a night curfew and the closure of hotels, restaurants and cultural and sports organizations, in light of the new ‘maximums’ recorded in recent days.
In France, the Government intends to address the concerns of store owners affected by the current partial confinement, imposing limits on the sale of non-essential items by supermarkets and the number of customers allowed in the stores. If the outbreak slows down, a way can be found to allow stores to open in the coming weeks.
In Spain, most of the 17 regions have already closed their internal borders or will do so this week, preventing non-essential travel. Specific regional feedlots will remain in effect until after 9 November. Regional authorities have extraordinary powers to declare movement restrictions after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a state of emergency on 25 October.
On BelgiumAs of this Sunday, all non-essential stores were closed, and a partial ban on visits to family and friends was imposed in an attempt to stem the flow of hospital admissions. Schools will also close for two weeks. A nightly curfew is already in place and bars and restaurants were closed earlier this month.
A Greece is taking further steps to contain the spread of covid-19 after the country reached a ‘record’ of 2056 new cases on Saturday. As of this Tuesday, the country will be divided into high-risk and under-surveillance zones. In the first areas, including the capital, Athens, restaurants, bars, cinemas, museums, theaters and gyms will close, although people are still allowed to move between regions. The curfew starts at 11:30 pm and the use of masks is mandatory in all spaces, indoors or outdoors.
In Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will receive this Monday the Prime Minister. On Saturday, António Costa announced that he had asked the President of the Republic for a hearing to convey the Government’s position on a possible declaration of a state of emergency applicable to municipalities with more than 240 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days.
At the extraordinary Council of Ministers meeting this Saturday, the Government decided to renew the calamity situation in the entire continental territory, from midnight this Wednesday until 11:59 pm on November 15, and to apply special measures in 121 counties that have more of 240 cases of infection per 100 thousand inhabitants in the last 14 days, including a duty to remain at home, mandatory teleworking, and closing of shops until 10 pm and restaurants until 10:30 pm.
Europe is the region in the world where the epidemic is most progressing today and where the number of new cases detected has increased by 41% in a single week, having identified half of the new infections in the last seven days in the world.
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