Just a few weeks after countries reopened their borders for the summer holidays, the revival of tourism in Europe faces trouble amid a new wave of COVID-19 infections.
European countries began opening up to each other’s tourists in mid-June, but recent events have shown the dangers of reopening cross-country travel. Britain had to impose a sudden 14-day quarantine on travelers arriving from Spain, Norway ordered a 10-day quarantine for people returning from the entire Iberian Peninsula, and France urged its citizens not to visit the Catalonia region. in Spain.
The World Health Organization said the coronavirus pandemic continues to accelerate, with a doubling of cases in the past six weeks.
The chief of emergencies for the United Nations health agency, Dr. Michael Ryan, emphasized the need to “keep the pressure on the virus.”
A tourist pushes a stroller while illustrators wait for customers, in Benidorm, southeastern Spain, on Monday July 27, 2020. (AP Photo / Álvaro Barrientos)
“In all the countries where pressure has been lifted on the virus, where the virus is still at the community level, there has been a backward leap in cases,” he said.
A count from Johns Hopkins University shows around 16.3 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide and around 650,000 deaths. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to test limits and the many minor cases that have not been reported.
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Elsewhere in Europe, authorities in Belgium said COVID-19 cases are growing at an alarming rate amid a surge of infections in Antwerp. Greek authorities said they are likely to extend the mandatory use of masks in churches and shopping malls.
A woman, who wears a mask to protect herself against the spread of the coronavirus, is combing her hair at a hairdresser in central Brussels on Monday, July 27, 2020. (AP Photo / Francisco Seco)
In Austria, the resort town of St. Wolfgang, on the lakefront, shortened the bar’s opening hours after an outbreak was detected on Friday. As of Monday, 53 people had tested positive, including many people working in the tourism industry.
In Germany, officials last week decided to set up test stations at airports to encourage people arriving from a long list of countries considered high-risk, including popular destinations like Turkey, to get tested. They will also allow people to take the test elsewhere for free within three days of arrival.
Bavaria Governor Markus Soeder said he is concerned about travelers returning from vacation. Referring to the Austrian ski resort that was a European hot spot in early March, he said: “My concern is not that there is a large Ischgl, but that there will be many mini-Ischgls.”
Later on Monday, Health Minister Jens Spahn said he had decided to make testing mandatory for tourists returning from risky areas, and that the new regulations should take effect next week, the news agency reported. dpa.
“We need to prevent travelers from infecting others without new chains of infection being detected and started,” he explained.
New infections in Germany have progressively increased from a low level.
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In Spain, the tourism industry employs 2.6 million people and generates 12 percent of the country’s economic activity. The sector has lost an average of $ 5.8 billion a week since March, according to Juan Molas, head of a national association of tourism companies, Mesa del Turismo.
Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said the Spanish government is trying to persuade Britain to exempt the Balearic Islands, which have a low infection rate, from the quarantine rule.
“We are living with the virus. That doesn’t mean we can’t travel. We can, if we are careful, “Maroto told The Associated Press.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
