Merkel warns Covid Spike leaves no room to ease restrictions in Germany

Photographer: Federico Gambarini / POOL / via Getty Images

Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out any further release of virus measures, saying a doubling in the number of daily cases in Germany in the last three weeks should be brought under control.

Europe’s largest economy on Tuesday recorded the largest increase in coronavirus cases in nearly four months, raising fears of a recurrence of infections across the continent.

The recent trend “should not continue and we should contain it,” Merkel said in Düsseldorf, adding that fines should be imposed on people who have hygiene and rules for socially distancing fighting. “We are in the midst of the pandemic,” she said in her first public remarks since the recent uptick in Germany.

European officials are already imposing restrictions on movement in an effort to spread summer sickness and travel the disease. Spain and Italy have restricted nightclubs and Greece to limited hours for bars and restaurants to try to prevent more drastic measures after the holiday season falls.

Germany requires people who return two weeks from severely affected areas to quarantine for two weeks or present a negative test to prevent the disease from spreading to schools and workplaces.

“More mobility and contact between people leads to higher numbers of cases,” Merkel said. “The virus is here, even if it is not visible. There is no vaccine and no medication. ”

European governments are desperate to promote a recovery after the collapse of activity in the second quarter, but a failure to act decisively to prevent a widespread downturn could later mean more pain for the economy. Austria imposed strict travel restrictions and mobilized troops to improve containment efforts, while the Netherlands insisted on group meetings.

In France, Labor Minister Elisabeth Borne announced that wearing a mask would be mandatory in most rehearsal rooms inside, including meeting rooms, lobbies and open-plan offices. The government also encourages employees to work at home as much as possible.

President Emmanuel Macron called on French citizens to abide by the rules of conduct. “In the coming weeks, we will have to continue to fight a health crisis that is taking a different form,” Macron said. “The virus is accelerating again, so a lot of waiting is required.”

In the Netherlands, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the fight against the pandemic was not going well. He advised limiting private meetings to no more than six and recommending that people continue to work from home after September 1st. Amsterdam will announce additional local measures to stop the spread later Tuesday, he said without providing details.

A total of 4,013 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed in the country last week, slightly less than the 4,036 reported in the seven days before, the RIVM Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment said on Tuesday .

Spain, where there has been a steady increase in new infections since late July, reported 2,128 new cases on Tuesday, a rise of 1,833 a day earlier. The Ministry of Public Health last night accused socialization of fueling new outbreaks and endangering the government’s danger of rebuilding the $ 175 billion tourism sector.

Austrian soldiers

The latest blow came from Austria, which has been issuing a travel warning for the popular Balearic Islands since Monday, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said in a press release. The move means that returns must go into quarantine if they can not deliver an older test if not older than three days.

The government will offer free tests at airports and deploy 500 additional police and 800 soldiers to their country borders to control returnees from Croatia and other high-risk areas.

Austria registered 295 new infections on Tuesday, keeping it at the average level of mid-April for seven days. More than 2,200 Austrians currently have the virus, most since the end of April and about six times more than in June.

Greece registered a new record of 269 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday. In total, Greece reported 7,472 cases – about 40% of which came in August.

There are more stimulating signs elsewhere in Europe. Italy – the original epicenter of the outbreak on the continent – reported 403 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, a slight rise on Monday but below figures from a week ago.

Germany remains a primary concerns. Credit risk is advanced, with investors fearing the uptick in new cases. An index of standard risk on Europe’s highest quality companies has been increased as well as an equivalent measure for junk bonds.

Indicators of daily activity

There were 1,693 new German cases in the 24 hours through Tuesday morning, the most since April 25, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The number of daily cases reached nearly 7,000 at the height of the pandemic in the spring.

There have been a number of outbreaks in recent weeks in institutions such as extended family gatherings and frying activities, as well as in educational and professional facilities, according to the country K Robert Institute.

“If we can manage this, the good news is that there is a lot of public life that we can allow to happen,” Merkel said.

– With the help of Raymond Colitt, Boris Groendahl, Geraldine Amiel, Rodrigo Orihuela, Sotiris Nikas, and Fred Pals

(Updates with Dutch restrictions, Greek figures)