[ad_1]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron decided, within hours of each other, that there was no more time and that, to try to stop the increase in cases in the last hours, it was time to act with new measures, while deaths linked to Covid-19 in Europe, the epicenter of the pandemic, have risen 44% in a week. Common goal: prevent the collapse of the health system and save schools.
“We have to act and we have to do it now,” said the foreign minister, who has decided on a “light confinement” starting on Monday, November 2 for a month. “If infections continue at this rate – he warned – we will reach the limit of the capacity of our health system.” Merkel decided on “tough measures” also because in Germany “at the moment it is not known where 75% of infections come from.” Starting Monday all bars and restaurants will be closed, professional sports teams will play in the empty stadiums. Theaters, gyms and beauty centers are also closed. Not only that: only ten people from two families can meet in public, while all public events and parties are canceled. Instead, schools, kindergartens, all commercial activities and hairdressers remain open. Yes to religious ceremonies, but in full compliance with the precise health and safety regulations. Merkel’s decision comes after the alarm from hospitals, which have seen Covid patients double in a week, with a record number of 15,000 new positives per day. Merkel assured that small and medium-sized companies will receive compensation equivalent to 75% of the losses. “We must once again guarantee the traceability of infections,” he reiterated. It is the necessary prerequisite to contain the spread of the virus.
In a dramatic speech to the nation last night, Macron also announced the new measures: “We are submerged by the sudden acceleration of the epidemic, by a virus that seems to be getting stronger,” which is why the head of the Elysee declared the national closure. from tomorrow until December 1. “Stay home, respect the rules.” The number of patients in intensive care has surpassed 3,000, for the 5,800 beds available to date: “If we don’t stop today, doctors will soon have to choose who to treat. If we let the virus circulate, we have to expect 400,000 deaths. In France, nonessential bars, restaurants and shops will remain closed, but schools will remain open.
Travel between regions is prohibited, except to return home this weekend, but open borders with the Schengen area. “All those who can stay at home will have to,” Macron said, even if public offices, farms, factories will remain open “because the economy cannot sink.”».
