[ad_1]
Thursday, October 22, 2020
The number of new corona infections continues to increase rapidly. In view of this evolution, several European countries are taking tougher measures in the fight against the pandemic. Much of this amounts to a nationwide lockdown.
In the Czech Republic, almost all stores have been closed since morning, as Health Minister Roman Prymula announced the day before. Grocery stores and pharmacies are excluded. In addition, exit restrictions are imposed: the government ordered that people must limit their contact with other people to the “time absolutely necessary.” The state of emergency has been in force since October 5. The Czech Republic has almost 10.7 million inhabitants, of which a total of almost 194,000 have been infected by the corona virus. According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the Czech Republic had the highest infection rate in Europe in 14 days with 975 infections per 100,000 inhabitants.
Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic does not rule out a shutdown for his country after a record rise of 2,202 new corona infections in one day. To avoid an equally rapid increase in the number of cases as in neighboring Czech Republic, only “sealing the whole country” could help. Corona’s national crisis team will make a decision on Thursday. The number of new infections in the ECDC statistics was 322 per 100,000 inhabitants in 14 days.
Ireland is stepping up its measures considerably. Since that night, the highest of the five levels of measures has been in effect there for six weeks. Concretely, this means: if you can, you have to work from home in Ireland before 1 December. Stores that do not sell essentials are closed. Meetings with other households are prohibited with some exceptions. Schools remain open. Outdoor sports are allowed within a five kilometer radius. In Ireland, around 52,000 infections have so far been recorded among the approximately 5 million inhabitants. In the ECDC statistics, Ireland is in the middle (270), so it is not as affected as the Czech Republic.
Exit bans in Lombardy
In Italy, the Lombardy region is particularly affected. Due to the rapid increase in the number of infections there, night-out bans have been in place since Thursday night for the roughly 10 million citizens. The northern Italian region also includes Milan and Bergamo. People can only leave their home between 11 pm and 5 am for important reasons such as work or illness. In total, it has been proven that almost 450,000 people have been infected with the corona virus in the Mediterranean country. In the ECDC statistics, Italy (172) still performs reasonably well in a European comparison.
Spain (ECDC value: 347), meanwhile, surpassed the one million mark for corona infections. Since the start of the pandemic, 1,005,295 people in the country of 47 million people have tested positive for the virus, the Health Ministry said. In the capital Madrid, despite Corona’s still high numbers, the two-week shutdown ordered by the central government against the will of the regional government ends on Friday. The city is considering closing severely affected urban areas and a night curfew. This possibility was also discussed for the whole of Spain. However, the parliament would have to accept the declaration of the state of emergency, which was considered unlikely.
In Bulgaria, it is mandatory to wear protective masks outdoors from Thursday. The measure, which is highly controversial in the country (ECDC: 136), will initially apply until the end of November.
