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Ireland and Wales have become the first in Europe to declare new lockdowns at the national level to cope with a surge in coronavirus infections following the easing of restrictions over the summer.
This week the Welsh government announced a two-week “firewall lockdown” for all of Wales. From Friday people can leave home only for essential reasons. All but essential stores are closed, restaurants are take out only, and high schools are moving to online teaching.
Across Europe, governments are tightening restrictions to try to stem a surge in Covid-19 cases that the World Health Organization has warned could overwhelm hospitals in multiple cities within weeks.
Governments are wary of public fatigue towards restrictions, and have so far tried using local restrictions when closing bars and restaurants, restricting the sale of alcohol, and increasingly using curfews in an attempt to find specific rules that can reduce infection rates without blanket bans.
But the disease has continued to spread, with authorities in many countries urging citizens to stay home whenever possible and limit their contacts, warning that closures like those seen in the spring may otherwise be on the way. .
In the Czech Republic, which has the worst infection rate in Europe, schools have switched to online teaching, and the government has closed bars, swimming pools, gyms, theaters, cinemas and ordered restaurants to only serve takeout. and that they close at 8 pm
Prime Minister Karel Havlicek has said he will wait until next week before deciding whether to impose a total “lockdown” – a word used to describe very different situations across Europe.
In recent months, local regulations aimed at keeping citizens at home or in their neighborhoods have been introduced in countries such as Spain, Greece, Scotland and Wales.
On Tuesday, the Berchtesgadener Land region of Germany, on the Austrian border, announced that schools and kindergartens would close along with leisure facilities and restaurants, and citizens would be forced to stay home for all the less important reasons. .
Since September, authorities have asked Madrid residents to stay home and increasingly restricted movement, banning non-essential travel in and out of the worst-hit neighborhoods and applying restrictions on bars, restaurants and social gatherings.
As of Thursday, non-essential trips within and outside the northern region of Navarra are prohibited. Bars, cafes and restaurants will close, and other businesses will close at 9 pm.
Also, Paris closed all bars and cafes earlier this month. As of Saturday night, the capital was among the nine French cities that lived under a curfew between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. All residents must be home or face fines, due to what the Prime Minister Jean Castex described it as a “spectacular acceleration” in the cases of Covid-19 that was already overwhelming intensive care units.
Belgium also introduced its first national curfew since World War II, confining citizens to their homes between midnight and 5 a.m., closing all bars, cafes and restaurants, and banning the sale of alcohol after 8 p.m.
Neighboring Holland also closed bars and restaurants and banned the sale of alcohol after 8 pm in what Prime Minister Mark Rutte described as a “partial closure.” Hospitals are prepared to send patients to Germany for intensive care due to lack of space.
France
About 20 million people live under the 9:00 p.m. curfew, including in Paris and Marseille, while the capital has closed its bars and cafes.
Belgium
Bars and restaurants are closed, there is a curfew between midnight and 5 a.m., the sale of alcohol is prohibited after 8 p.m., and citizens can have only close contact outside their home.
The Netherlands
Bars and restaurants are closed, and the sale of alcohol is prohibited after 8 pm, and citizens are asked to work from home and limit social contacts.
Czech Republic
All schools have switched to online teaching. Bars, pools, gyms, theaters, and cinemas are closed, while restaurants are take-out only and must close at 8pm.
Spain
Movement in and out of the access points of Madrid and the northern region of Navarra is prohibited in the latest of the local restrictions that began during the summer and have since affected regions such as Catalonia and Galicia.
Welsh
High schools have moved to online teaching, non-essential stores are closed, and citizens are only required to leave home for essential reasons.
Germany
The rules differ between Germany’s federal states, but Chancellor Angela Merkel has asked citizens to “stay home where possible.” The alpine region of Berchtesgadener Land declared a blockade on Tuesday.
Sweden
The Uppsala region has asked citizens to avoid social contacts and public transportation, the first region to toughen the rules after national authorities allowed localities to establish stricter policies in a departure from the previous approach.
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