Across the European continent, where more than 278,000 people have died since the start of the pandemic and more than 10.4 million have been infected, the number of new cases registered has increased by 41% in one week, that is, half of the contagions recorded in the world in the last few seven days.
Such a rise in cases, which could lead to the imminent collapse of hospitals, forced governments to again restrict freedom of movement and to close entire sectors of the economy.
In the face of fear of a social disaster, protests took place on Saturday for the second consecutive night in several cities in Spain, including clashes with the police, acts of vandalism and looting.
The biggest disturbances took place in Madrid, where many protesters shouted “Freedom”, set waste bins on fire and erected barricades on Gran Via, the capital’s main avenue, according to images shared on social media.
Unrest has also been reported in Malaga and Barcelona. The police announced that 32 people had been arrested.
In Logroño (La Rioja) seven police officers were wounded and six people were detained as a result of unrest. About 150 radical youths burned containers and stoned the police. According to the Government delegation in La Rioja, there were also disturbances in other municipalities, namely in Haro.
In Logroño, where the hotel business has been closed since Friday and for a month, protesters placed containers on the streets and cut off traffic near the headquarters of the local government and the Madrid government delegation in the city center.
Demonstrations also took place in Bilbao (Basque Country), where four young people were detained after riots by groups that opposed the measures approved to combat covid-19. At the same time in Vitoria there were acts of vandalism in the center of the city and in San Sebastian, Arrasate and Eibar, in the province of Guipúzcoa (also Basque Country), garbage containers were burned.
In the south of the country, in Malaga (Andalusia), groups of protesters in protest against the restrictive measures applied by the Government also destroyed trash containers and set fires.
With almost 36,000 deaths, Spain is the third country in the world with the highest mortality rate due to Covid-19, with 77 deaths for every 100,000 inhabitants, behind Peru (105) and Belgium (100).
The neighboring country ordered national curfews and most Spanish regions adopted a ban on leaving their territories to prevent travel to neighboring regions.
The merchant revolt
After the imposition of curfew in several regions, the closing of bars and restaurants at 18:00, in addition to the interruption of the activities of gyms, cinemas and theaters, the Italian government is studying the possibility of announcing this Monday a confinement major cities, according to the local press.
“The epidemiological curve is still very high,” said Health Minister Roberto Speranza. Opposition to restrictions has also sparked clashes in major cities across the country in recent days. The Florence mayor, for example, called for calm after Saturday’s violent clashes between protesters and police.
In France, which resumed its confinement – which should last for a month – on Friday, the revolt of merchants considered non-essential, forced to close their doors, which denounce the unfair competition from large stores, authorized to remain open, and from online platforms such as Amazon.
The prime minister may decide to close “large shelves of products that are not essential” in big stores, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday.
In the United Kingdom, the most affected country in Europe, with at least 46,555 dead, the new confinement announced in England to start on Thursday and continue until December 2 may be extended, according to Minister Michael Gove, which increases the distress of the economic sectors. This new confinement is a “nightmare before Christmas,” complained Helen Dickinson, director general of the British merchant federation.
Greece, which announced a month’s confinement in Athens and other major cities as of Tuesday, wants to “try to save the Christmas festivities,” said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
During the Greek lockdown, circulation between midnight and 5 am will be prohibited. Bars, restaurants and leisure venues in Athens and other cities will remain closed. The rest of the country will have to respect night curfews and the mandatory use of masks, including outdoors.
Other countries have also tightened restrictions, such as Germany and Austria, a country of 8.8 million inhabitants that has more than 5,000 daily cases and whose second confinement will take effect on Tuesday and should continue until the end of November.
“No event will be possible. This includes the sports, culture and leisure sectors. Hotels will have to close, with the exception of business trips and we will also be forced to close restaurants and cafes, with the exception of take-away food,” explained the chancellor. Austrian, Sebastian Kurz.
Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke called on the population not to go shopping on Sunday, the eve of the start of more restrictive measures for six weeks.
In Portugal, the Council of Ministers decided on Saturday that 121 municipalities will be covered, as of Wednesday, by the civic duty of home collection, new hours in establishments and mandatory teleworking, except for “reasoned opposition” by the worker, due to the covid -19.
The restaurants in these 121 counties have to close until 22:30 and all commercial establishments will have to close, in general, at 22:00.
Also in these territories – which represent 70% of the resident population – fairs and uprising markets are prohibited, and events and celebrations are limited to five people, except in cases where the participants belong to the same household.
The counties covered have more than 240 cases of infection with the covid-19 virus per 100 thousand inhabitants in the last 14 days and this will be the criterion that will serve to update the list of municipalities subject to restrictive measures every 15 days, following a principle defined by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. There is an exception for outbreaks located in low density counties.
Two other measures approved on Saturday cover the entire continental territory and not just these 121 counties: limiting groups of six people in restaurants and prolonging the calamity situation for another two weeks.
* with agencies
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