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– The Bank of England has disclosed an additional $ 196 billion in cash stimulus and forecast a deeper coronavirus-induced recession for the UK when England begins a second lockdown.
– Germany’s second-largest lender, Commerzbank, has reported a net loss of $ 81 million in the third quarter following provisions against an economy hit by the coronavirus and a restructuring that will close branches and eliminate jobs.
– Lufthansa warned that it will consume more cash in the fourth quarter than in the third and that further restructuring measures will affect the results of the German airline as it struggles to cope with the effects of the pandemic.
– The Lombardy region, which includes Milan, was at the center of the first COVID-19 outbreak in Italy. It is reverting to a strict lockdown after being put in a red zone by the government, so people can only leave home for work, health reasons or emergencies.
– Paris will undergo further restrictions to curb the growing number of coronavirus cases, including a requirement that more stores close at night. The mayor of the French capital, Anne Hidalgo, told local media that it will mean closing certain stores that sell take-out food and drink starting at 10 pm, adding to the existing national blockade in France.
– People in London and around England flocked to pubs for one final night before the start of a new national shutdown on Thursday. The UK has the highest official death toll in Europe from COVID-19 and faces more than 20,000 new cases per day.
– China has banned non-Chinese visitors from the UK, Belgium and the Philippines, while travelers from Germany, France and the US will have to undergo additional medical checks with blood and nucleic acid tests.
Alex Fraser in Milan
Italy’s government announced new restrictions Wednesday night, which involve dividing the country into three zones: yellow, orange and red, the latter the most severe.
In the red zones, the Lombardy, Piedmont, Valle D’Aosta and Calabria regions, the restrictions are similar to the blockade of Italy in March, which at that time was the first national blockade in Europe. People can only leave their homes in case of work or health emergencies. All travel in and into the red zones is prohibited and nonessential bars, restaurants and shops must close. Unlike in March, hairdressers, factories and elementary schools will remain open, other age groups in education will move to online classes.
Puglia and Sicily have been classified as orange zones. The restrictions there mean that people can still move freely in the zone but cannot leave the regions. The bars and restaurants will be closed and take away food service will be allowed until 10:00 pm.
The rest of the country, including the capital Rome, is in the yellow zone, where people can enter and exit freely, but additional restrictions have been put in place. These include online classes for high school and higher education students, bar and restaurant closings at 6pm every day, and a total closure of swimming pools, gyms and museums. There will also be a curfew from 10 pm to 5 am each night.
Starting Friday, November 6, the system will remain operational for two weeks and will then be overhauled.
Ross Cullen in Paris
The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, says that certain take-away food stores and some stores that sell alcohol will have to close at 10 p.m. as a type of curfew is introduced, which adds to the national lockdown currently in force in France.
In an interview with the breakfast media, he said that he hoped that the bookstores could open again from November 12 if the health situation allows it. The mayor said that the stores are “essential businesses”. He also said that his team would propose that the Education Ministry use facilities in closed libraries, gymnasiums and theaters if necessary.
On Wednesday in Paris, there were fights between high school students and the police: the students argued that their school had not implemented enough new sanitary measures to make them feel safe.
Teachers and parents also held a rally outside a school arguing that they were not consulted about the “strengthened health protocols” the government said would be brought to schools to allow them to remain open during the second national shutdown, which began last week.
Guy Henderson in London
England is now locked in again. But it looks different than the first one in the spring, as a steady stream of morning traffic continued through London on Thursday morning and a few passengers can still be seen getting on the tube.
While more businesses will remain open this time (you can still head to unlicensed stores, garden centers, and pet stores), the many that are closing worry about whether they will survive the winter.
UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak will try to calm nerves on Thursday with an announcement that is expected to include an extension of the leave scheme, paying workers 80 percent of their wages to avoid being fired. And the Bank of England says it will inject an additional $ 196 billion into the economy.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has assured that the public restrictions will end “automatically” on December 2.
Toni Waterman in Brussels
The average number of new daily coronavirus infections fell for the second day in Belgium, offering some hope that the strict measures put in place to curb the spread are working.
The most recent data shows an average of 14,091 new cases last week, six percent less than the previous week. However, the number of deaths continues to rise, by 75 percent during the same period.
Meanwhile, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has warned that strict COVID-19 restrictions will need to remain in place until a vaccine is found, without expanding what those measures might be. Belgium does not expect to get its hands on a vaccine, if one is developed, until spring 2021.
Mark Webster in Budapest
Hungary is now under a special legal order for 90 days after Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s announcement that pandemic restrictions would be tightened in response to a growing number of infections.
Nearly 5,000 people are now in the hospital with COVID-19 symptoms and there are warnings that the medical system could be overwhelmed in mid-December if people do not abide by the new stricter measures and reduce infection rates.
FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES
CGTN Europe: UK economy faces ‘triplet of challenges’
CGTN China: China hopes to promote post-pandemic cooperation with SCO members
CGTN America: US COVID-19 Cases Top 9.36 Million, Following Elections
CGTN Africa: Kenya extends curfew and school closings until January 2021
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