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Given the growing number of new infections, the Austrian government is imposing drastic new measures to limit the pandemic. A new shutdown will go into effect at midnight Monday versus Tuesday, Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said at a news conference broadcast live on television.
Until now, there was a curfew in Austria from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
The new thing is that it is forbidden to leave the houses during the day. An exception is made for essential purchases, including medications, for short walks or individual sports.
The retail network will be closed, except for grocery stores, pharmacies, drug stores, banks and post offices. Schools and kindergartens are also closed until December 6. Students will move on to online learning. For all families in which it is impossible for parents to work from home, childcare will be provided in schools and kindergartens, not including school activities.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz
Photo: AP / BTA
The pandemic is already spreading diffusely, the chancellor said, and 77 percent of those infected cannot trace the path of infection. In some of the Austrian provinces, the number of new infections is growing explosively, despite the partial closure imposed on November 3.
The new phase clearly regulates social contacts. In addition to living in the same home, contact with loved ones, such as a family member, is allowed. Kurz called for compliance: “every social contact is more,” he said.
The government provides compensatory aid to all companies that are forced to close to limit the pandemic.
Several European countries are introducing new restrictions due to the infection.
1,303,783 people have died in the world as a result of the complications of coronavirus infection, according to an AFP census based on data from national authorities. There have been 53,380,442 cases of the new coronavirus worldwide since the start of the pandemic.
With 284,000 new cases per day, Europe remains the region with the strongest progression of the infection, although there is a stabilization of new infections.
As the epidemic progresses, several European countries are introducing new restrictions. Ukraine closes small goods stores for three weekends, Greece closes primary schools and kindergartens at the end of the month, Portugal introduces a weekend curfew starting today.
We will have to live with the virus for a long time, French Prime Minister Jean Castex warned today, saying he was preparing rules for the country until the Covid-19 vaccine arrived.
“One thing is for sure: parties and family gatherings in the banquet halls will not be renewed for a long time. Also, bars and restaurants that are part of the severe infection sites will not be able to open from December 1, to Unlike toy stores, for example, “Castex told Le Monde.
In the coming months, teleworking must continue on the basis of a balance that companies must find to avoid an all-or-nothing situation.
The mayor of the large Istanbul municipality, Ekrem Immaoglu, called on the government to immediately impose a quarantine for at least two weeks to stop the spread of the coronavirus. He pointed out that the data on the spread of the coronavirus in the metropolis have reached threatening proportions and exceed those of seven months ago. According to the Ministry of Health, 50 percent of Kovid-19 cases have been registered in Istanbul in recent weeks.
“The facts show that at this stage the pandemic in the metropolis cannot be controlled only by measures such as the use of masks and distance. To stop the spread of the pandemic and control it, it is urgent to quarantine the city for at least two weeks, “said the mayor.
According to him, Turkey is currently in the seventh month since the start of the pandemic.
Ankara
Photo: AP / BTA
“But this stage is very different from the previous months of March-April-May. The weather is cold and the risk of colds has increased. We see that the number of people with positive cases of Kovid-19 increases every day. And so it is “Several hospitals are already overcrowded with patients and there are serious signs that the system may collapse. It is necessary to stop the spread of the infection as soon as possible, which can only be done with full quarantine, at least for a time, “said the mayor.
Edirne was asked to close the border with Bulgaria, as half of the new infected were due to the next Bulgarians.
Protests in Germany against covid restrictions
Photo: AP / BTA
Meanwhile, protests against restrictive measures continue
Today numerous demonstrations have taken place in Germany.
Almost a thousand people protested in the center of Frankfurt, in the central state of Hesse, at the behest of the Querdenker, the initiator of numerous demonstrations in recent months against restrictions on the spread of Kovid-19. Several hundred people participated in a “counter-closure” demonstration authorized by the authorities but interrupted by some 200 anti-racist counter-protesters. The police used a water cannon to disperse the counter-demonstration, which was not authorized by the authorities.
Protests against restrictions in Frankfurt
Photo: AP / BTA
About 700 protesters were in Regensburg, in the southern province of Bavaria. His action against the wearing of masks and the closure of bars and restaurants passed without incident.
The protests are scheduled for tomorrow in several cities in West Germany, including Lindau and Erlangen.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in the center of lisbon Despite the entry into force this afternoon of a weekend ban on the streets of the areas most affected by the coronavirus in Portugal, AFP reported.
The protests in Portugal
Photo: AP / BTA
After the curfew introduced on Monday on weekdays between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., this afternoon the ban on going out in public on weekends from 1 p.m. to 5 a.m. The measure applies to more than 100 percent of the areas most affected by the coronavirus, where about 70 percent of the country’s 10 million inhabitants live.
The protests in Portugal
Photo: AP / BTA
Some 500 people protested today against the call of the restaurateurs, one of the sectors most affected by the restrictive measures, as well as the initiative of a civil movement that organized a “march for freedom”. An hour later, the protesters dispersed.
“The pandemic is here and we have to defend ourselves, but without killing the economy,” said Carla Torres, 33, who works for a public relations firm whose clients include chefs, restaurants and hotels. “Our clients can no longer pay us, and many of them will be forced to lay off employees next month,” he added.
Last night in the large city of Porto, in the north of Portugal, employees from the restaurant sector gathered and, at times, tensions arose between protesters and the police.
“This weekend will be very different. We will have to stay home in the afternoon and at night. It will be very difficult for all of us,” acknowledged Prime Minister Antonio Costa in a video message released this morning.
To justify the extra effort required by the Portuguese, he said that the development of the coronavirus situation was really very serious.
According to today’s data from the General Directorate of Health, the new confirmed cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours are 6,600, and the total number of deaths from Kovid-19 has exceeded 3,300.
Starting Monday (November 16), emergency measures and night and weekend curfew will be introduced in new regions and will affect two-thirds of Portuguese municipalities and 80% of the country’s population.
