– There are not enough vaccines in Europe to stop the third wave of vaccination alone, summed up Germany’s Minister of Health, Jens Spahn, recently.
– Although deliveries of EU orders are now reliable, it will take many weeks before risk groups are fully vaccinated. Only then can we talk about opening up, says Spahn.
[ Problemer i kø for AstraZeneca: Disse sakene har skapt trøbbel og bekymring ]
Third wave
Earlier this winter, European countries had hoped for an easier situation as Easter approached. Instead, Europe is now entering the third wave, leading to further austerity or the prolongation of a closure that is already there.
As in Norway, it is British mutation now dominant in Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal, according to the World Health Organization, WHO. This is the background for increased infection rates in Europe.
– We are practically in a new pandemic, the British mutation has become dominant, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday night, in which new austerity measures were announced in Germany for Easter.
– Basically we have a new virus… it is much more deadly, much more contagious and the infection lasts much longer, Merkel said.
However, most countries do not yet have as high infection rates as in the second wave, according to statistics Worldometers. But it is feared that this will happen if stronger measures are not introduced now. The hope is that the measures will prevent the wave from becoming soaring, at the same time as one “buys oneself time” before the vaccination is expected to pick up speed in the coming months.
[ Skal du ut av Oslo i påsken? Dette er rådene fra helsebyråden ]
Closed Easter
This is now being done in some countries in Europe:
Germany:
Angela Merkel and the leaders of the country’s states have agreed to extend the shutdown of Germany until 18 April. The restrictions initially lasted until March 28. This means that cultural, leisure and sports facilities are still closed.
In addition, a stricter closure will be introduced for five days at Easter, between 1 and 5 April, in order to control the growing infection. A maximum of five adults from two households can meet at home then.
From before, German health experts have warned that you can be back where you were at Christmas.
– It is quite likely that at Easter we will have a situation similar to the one we had before Christmas, with a very high number of infected, many seriously ill and dead, and overloaded hospitals, sa Lars Schaade, Vice President of the Robert Koch Institute, recently.
Some restrictions were eased somewhat in February and March, but the government and state authorities were forced to reverse the easing. The schools reopened in February. In some hard-hit areas, these can now be closed again.
France
France has just introduced a “lockdown light” in 16 regions where a third of the country’s population lives, including the Paris area. Unnecessary shops are closing and it is not allowed to travel between the regions.
There are more people in intensive care in the Paris region now than during the second wave in November, writes The Guardian. The hospital capacity is stretched to the maximum.
However, the new measures are less stringent than before, which has led some experts to believe that they will not be enough. Among other things, hairdressers, bookstores and flower shops can stay open. The schools are also open, except for the oldest in upper secondary school, which has a partial home school.
[ Slår alarm om konsekvensene av pandemien: – Vi har knappe ti år på oss ]
Italy
From March 15, Italy introduced another severe closure, in which more than half of the country was categorized as “red”, which means closed schools, restaurants and bars.
During the Easter weekend, the whole country is categorized as level red, and people are asked to stay home except for necessary errands.
An increasing number of corona patients are middle-aged or younger in Italian hospitals now.
Belgium
Belgium had earlier this month eased some measures, among other things, Belgians had been allowed to meet twice as many outdoors. Now more restrictions according to the plans were to be eased, but the reliefs have been postponed.
It is not allowed to have a visit at home, and only close contact outside the household is allowed. In Brussels, there is a curfew between kl. 22 and at Restaurants are still closed. Kindergartens and primary schools are open, while older pupils have partly home school, partly teaching at the school.
[ «Solbergs legge seg flat-manøver blir bare mindre og mindre flat» ]
The Netherlands
The government recently extended the curfew on the nights that have been introduced since January due to the British mutation. Prime Minister Mark Rutte introduced a few reliefs in March, but by and large, strong restrictions continue in the Netherlands as well.
… But here they see the light:
Great Britain
In the UK, on the other hand, the opposite is true: infection rates and death rates have plummeted in recent months. Both are now around a tenth of what they were around New Year.
There are probably two reasons for this: Britain is ahead of the other European countries in terms of the spread of the British mutation, ie the consequences of this were at their peak around the New Year. The British mutation was already dominant there in December. Only now do we really see the effect of this mutant in other European countries.
The other important reason is that the United Kingdom is also far ahead of the rest of Europe in terms of vaccination. The EU and the EEA area now have given an initial dose of 10.4 percentt of the population, while 4.5 percent are fully vaccinated, according to an overview from European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
In the UK have as many as 53 percent received the first dose, while four percent are fully vaccinated, according to an overview from the British authorities. The United Kingdom started vaccination earlier than the EU, has not experienced delivery delays to the same degree as the EU, and has also from the outset prioritized giving several vaccine doses one, instead of fully vaccinating several first.
Denmark
In Denmark, there is now a stabilization of infection rates, and a broad majority in the Folketing on Monday agreed on an agreement on a long-term reopening. In two weeks, the first measures will be eased, among other things by hairdressers, physiotherapists, masseurs and tattooists again being able to receive customers, but with a requirement that visitors can show a so-called corona passport that confirms vaccination, that they have tested negative for corona the last three days or that you have been infected before.
Denmark is now looking into an opening, while other countries in Europe are looking into a closure, says leader of the Conservative People’s Party, Søren Pape Poulsen, according to Politiken.
The turning point for almost full reopening will occur when everyone over the age of 50 has been vaccinated. It is expected to happen in May. The prerequisite for reopening is that the infection is kept down, the vaccination rate is kept up, and vaccination passes are used.
It will be a milestone in the country’s corona crisis, the politicians state in the agreement text:
– The risk of death and the overload of the health care system as a result of the corona will fall very markedly, and society can be reopened. However, there will still be restrictions on events with a risk of super-spread, including larger events and nightlife, travel restrictions and general infection prevention measures, it is stated in the agreement.
[ – Vi styrer mot en helsekrise etter pandemien ]
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