Covid-19 in Europe: countries resume the measures of the beginning of the pandemic

The advance of the coronavirus in Europe would be found “out of control”, which has forced many countries that at the beginning of the second wave had refused to return to a lockdown like the one in March, to take strict confinement measures to prevent further advance of the virus, restricting movements, schedules and activities to their citizens.

The new measures, similar to those taken at the beginning of the pandemic, have become unbearable for many European citizens. In ItalyThousands of people came out to protest Monday night, with violent incidents in Milan and Turin. In Spain, The vast majority of public health doctors on Tuesday began a national strike – the first in 25 years – to demand greater recognition after more than six months of a grueling fight against the coronavirus.

Europe, which registered more than 200 thousand cases daily in the last days, has returned to be the epicenter of the pandemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It is the region that registered the most infections for the second consecutive week, with more than 1.3 million.

In its effort to improve its response to the second wave of infections, the EU announced that it will allocate close to US $ 117 million to purchase rapid tests for Covid-19.

“The concern is that hospital intensive care units are starting to fill up with very sick people,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told the BBC. Daily deaths on the continent, meanwhile, increased by almost 40% compared to the previous week.

The President of France, Emmanuel macron, announced this Wednesday that the country will return to a national confinement starting this Friday to face the advance of the virus. In a message posted on Twitter, the President said that it is necessary to “go further” to stop Covid-19.

“The virus circulates at a speed that even the most pessimistic forecasts did not anticipate,” Macron pointed out, while infections on French territory amount to 1.2 million and the deceased exceed 35 thousand.

Despite the strict confinement measures, the French leader warned that, just like the first time, the French will be able to “go out to work, go to a medical appointment, do shopping or take a walk.” The new national closure will run until at least December 1 and nonessential bars, restaurants and businesses will close. However, the schools will remain open, unlike the two-month lockdown imposed in March.

In Italy, which has 589 thousand cases and almost 38 thousand deaths Due to the virus, the latest decree with which the government tries to combat the advance of the pandemic came into force on Monday. Thus, it was decided closing of bars, restaurants and other venues from 6:00 p.m. until November 24, while theaters, gyms and cinemas must be closed.

Some Italian regions have been applying night curfews according to their needs, especially those most affected, such as Lombardy in the north, Lazio in the center or Campania in the south.

In addition, the Italian Foreign Minister asked his citizens not to travel abroad, “except for strictly necessary reasons”, and did not rule out applying restrictions to make it difficult for people to enter the country.

He Pope Francisco, meanwhile, announced that the weekend will celebrate Mass for the dead without the faithful, because of “Mrs. Covid”.

In Germany, the number of people in intensive care units has doubled in the last 10 days and in many areas it is no longer possible to trace the chains of infection, said the German chancellor Angela Merkel, warning that in 75% of the cases, the origin of the contagion was unknown.

Thus, he announced a series of measures that account for a second national lockdown, which include the closure of restaurants, bars, theaters, cinemas, gyms and public swimming pools, the cancellation of large events, and the ban on hotel stays. Additionally, unnecessary travel was discouraged, and a call was made to return to telecommuting, while public gatherings will be limited to just two households of up to 10 people in total.

“We will compensate the affected companies, institutions and clubs,” Merkel said, promising that companies with up to 50 employees and the self-employed would receive 75% of their income in support.

However, the closure of Germany -that scores more than 472 thousand infections and more than 10 thousand deaths– will not be total. Schools and kindergartens will remain open, churches and protests will be allowed to continue, residents of nursing homes will be able to receive visits and stores will remain open, with one customer allowed for every 10 square meters.

In the same vein, a few days ago it was announced that the traditional Christmas market in the city of Nuremberg will cancel this year’s edition due to the advance of the pandemic in the last two weeks in the country, where until then it had had milder effects than in the rest of the continent.

“We have very, very difficult months ahead of us,” Chancellor Angela Merkel was quoted as saying at a conference Sunday with members of the conservative parliamentary group, according to the daily Bild.

The town hall of Madrid, meanwhile, announced that it will use drones to avoid crowds in cemeteries on November 1. Other Spanish regions, such as Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y León they announced a perimeter closure Until the 9 of november. These are added to Murcia, Navarra, La Rioja, Aragon, Asturias and Euskadi, which had already announced this measure for their territories. Spain registers more than 1.1 million infections and 35 thousand deaths due to the virus.

In United Kingdom, which exceeds 942 thousand cases and the 45 thousand deaths, the authorities decided that the towns of Nottingham, Rushcliffe, Gedling and Broxtone They will enter the maximum level of alert for the pandemic from this Thursday, like other British municipalities and cities, given the sustained increase in infections in the country.

In Belgium, the Council of the EU will reduce its face-to-face meetings to a minimum given the worsening health situation in the region and particularly in Brussels, which has been one of the areas most affected by the second wave. “Only meetings essential for the functioning of the EU or to coordinate the crisis response to Covid-19 will continue to take place in person, and under the condition that all social and health distancing rules are strictly adhered to,” the spokesperson tweeted of the Presidency of the Council, the German Sebastian Fischer.