BERLIN: Record numbers of daily infections in Germany, the Czech Republic and Italy raised fears on Thursday that Europe is running out of possibilities to control its latest coronavirus outbreak.
France has established a 9 p.m. curfew for many of its largest cities, as governments across the continent take increasingly tough measures.
New infections have increased in Europe in recent weeks as fall begins, prompting authorities in many places to begin re-imposing restrictions that were relaxed over the summer. The Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Great Britain are among the countries of particular concern.
While Germany, the most populous nation in the European Union, is still in relatively good shape, alarms have started to sound there as well. On Thursday, the country’s national disease control center reported 6,638 cases in 24 hours, surpassing the previous record of nearly 6,300 set at the end of March, though testing in the country of 83 million has expanded enormously since then. .
Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany’s 16 state governors agreed on Wednesday night to toughen mask-wearing rules, have bars close early, and limit the number of people who can gather in areas where coronavirus infection rates are high. high.
Merkel, who emphasized the importance of keeping contact tracing efforts on track, said “we must stop this exponential increase, the sooner the better.”
Lothar Wieler, director of the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s national center for disease control, said that “we can still suppress the spread, the exponential growth” of the virus. But officials made it clear that more efforts might be needed.
“I think yesterday’s decisions are an important step, but they probably won’t be enough,” Merkel’s chief of staff Helge Braun told ARD television.
“So now it is up to the population that we not only look at ‘what am I allowed to do now’, but basically we must do more and be more cautious than what the governors decided yesterday.
Merkel noted that neighboring countries are having to take “very drastic measures.” This week the Netherlands have closed bars and restaurants and the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland have closed schools.
The Czech Health Ministry said the country, with a population of more than 10 million, confirmed 9,544 new cases on Wednesday, more than 900 more than the previous record, set less than a week ago. The government says hospitals could reach full capacity by the end of October.
On Wednesday night, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that 18 million residents in nine regions, including Paris, will have a 9 p.m. curfew from Saturday to December 1.
“We will not go to restaurants after 9 pm We will not see friends. We are not going to celebrate, because that is how the virus is transmitted, ”Macron said.
Paris restaurant, movie theater and theater owners are furious at the new curfew rules, which effectively shut down nighttime activities. Tighter local restrictions in the north of England and Northern Ireland have elicited the same emotions from business owners there. But health authorities across Europe are urging people to obey the new restrictions.
One of Belgium’s top universities said it is moving towards online education whenever possible. The University of Ghent said the move will start on October 26 and the Dutch-speaking Free University of Brussels said it has already prepared its staff and facilities to do the same if necessary.
Italy, which has been spared the worst of the second wave so far, also posted its biggest single-day increase in infections on Wednesday since the pandemic began. It added another 7,332 cases amid a resurgence that threatens to bring the country’s contact tracing system to its knees, beating a record set in late March.
France has established a 9 p.m. curfew for many of its largest cities, as governments across the continent take increasingly tough measures.
New infections have increased in Europe in recent weeks as fall begins, prompting authorities in many places to begin re-imposing restrictions that were relaxed over the summer. The Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Great Britain are among the countries of particular concern.
While Germany, the most populous nation in the European Union, is still in relatively good shape, alarms have started to sound there as well. On Thursday, the country’s national disease control center reported 6,638 cases in 24 hours, surpassing the previous record of nearly 6,300 set at the end of March, though testing in the country of 83 million has expanded enormously since then. .
Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany’s 16 state governors agreed on Wednesday night to toughen mask-wearing rules, have bars close early, and limit the number of people who can gather in areas where coronavirus infection rates are high. high.
Merkel, who emphasized the importance of keeping contact tracing efforts on track, said “we must stop this exponential increase, the sooner the better.”
Lothar Wieler, director of the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s national center for disease control, said that “we can still suppress the spread, the exponential growth” of the virus. But officials made it clear that more efforts might be needed.
“I think yesterday’s decisions are an important step, but they probably won’t be enough,” Merkel’s chief of staff Helge Braun told ARD television.
“So now it is up to the population that we not only look at ‘what am I allowed to do now’, but basically we must do more and be more cautious than what the governors decided yesterday.
Merkel noted that neighboring countries are having to take “very drastic measures.” This week the Netherlands have closed bars and restaurants and the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland have closed schools.
The Czech Health Ministry said the country, with a population of more than 10 million, confirmed 9,544 new cases on Wednesday, more than 900 more than the previous record, set less than a week ago. The government says hospitals could reach full capacity by the end of October.
On Wednesday night, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that 18 million residents in nine regions, including Paris, will have a 9 p.m. curfew from Saturday to December 1.
“We will not go to restaurants after 9 pm We will not see friends. We are not going to celebrate, because that is how the virus is transmitted, ”Macron said.
Paris restaurant, movie theater and theater owners are furious at the new curfew rules, which effectively shut down nighttime activities. Tighter local restrictions in the north of England and Northern Ireland have elicited the same emotions from business owners there. But health authorities across Europe are urging people to obey the new restrictions.
One of Belgium’s top universities said it is moving towards online education whenever possible. The University of Ghent said the move will start on October 26 and the Dutch-speaking Free University of Brussels said it has already prepared its staff and facilities to do the same if necessary.
Italy, which has been spared the worst of the second wave so far, also posted its biggest single-day increase in infections on Wednesday since the pandemic began. It added another 7,332 cases amid a resurgence that threatens to bring the country’s contact tracing system to its knees, beating a record set in late March.
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