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Europe is preparing more restrictive measures to try to contain the covid-19. At a time when the number of cases already exceeds the worst record of the beginning of the pandemic, governments want to flatten the “second camel hump” in time to save Christmas.
The metaphor of the head of camels, as a second curve, serves as the motto for a kind of Christmas tale, in which the governments of several countries struggle to prepare and implement measures to curb COVID-19 and save the Christmas season. the quintessential holiday of family reunions in Western Europe.
Two days after Portugal entered a contingency situation, backing away from what is in force, Prime Minister António Costa summoned the crisis cabinet. After almost two months, they meet again, this Friday, in the context of the increase in cases in Portugal, which on Thursday reached 770 in 24 hours, the eighth worst record since the pandemic began, returning to maximum figures of covid-19 in late March and early April.
In France, like in England, the Macron government is preparing new measures, which could lead to restrictions in large cities. The “frugal” Dutch government is also already designing new measures to control the arrival of the second wave, which seems to have entered into force in the Czech Republic, which registers worse figures than in the first wave, in which that country became known. for Implementing the mandatory use of a mask on the street, registering few cases.
Israel should go into lockdown this Friday, becoming the first rich country to deploy a parade a second time, while Spain Local lockdowns are beginning to be established to stop the epidemic in some neighborhoods in the Spanish capital, Madrid, the biggest focus of covid-19 in Europe today.
The regional government of Madrid a prepares draconian measures to curb the infection, when the number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants reached 659 in the Spanish capital, with an estimate that in the poorest areas it could double.
According to data from European Center for Disease Control (ECDC, in the original acronym), the number of cases per 100 thousand inhabitants in Spain amounted to 260, well above 90 in France and about 60, on average, in the United Kingdom.
“We have to be tough now to save Christmas,” argued Prime Minister Boris Johnson. “We need to stop the outbreak, stop the second camel boss, smash the second boss,” he added in an interview with British tabloid “The Sun” on Thursday, when new restrictions were announced in northeast England.
The announced measures affect almost two million people living in the northeast of England, where the number of cases has risen to more than 70 per 100,000 inhabitants, and in Sunderland it has reached 103.
High figures, taking into account that the British Government uses the ratio of 20 per 100 thousand inhabitants to determine which countries are safe to travel, which led to the exclusion of Portugal from the air corridor in early September.
News infections are increasing in the UK, the country with the most deaths in Europe, 41,705, according to the most recent data. An Imperial College study published last week on infection levels in England indicated that the number of cases has doubled every seven to eight days since August 22.
The number of daily cases surpassed the 3,000 mark in several days and reached close to 4,000 on Wednesday, more than half the number recorded during the peak of the UK pandemic in April, although this is also the result. further testing is underway.
The British government had already tightened restrictions this week, limiting indoor or outdoor gatherings to six people, with the exception of schools, workplaces and sports.
In cities like Sunderland or Newcastle, socializing between people from different households will be prohibited, bars and restaurants will only have table service and must close between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., Health Minister Matt Hancock said, in a statement in the Chamber. of the Commons.
On Friday, Hancock admitted that the measures now in place in the northwest of England could be extended to the entire United Kingdom, the country with the highest number of deaths in Europe and the fifth in the world, behind the USA, Brazil, India and Mexico.
“We will do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of citizens, but the first line of defense is to respect the rules of social distance,” he told the BBC’s public broadcaster.
The minister said that, as a second “line of defense” is the contagion detection and monitoring system, after which come localized confinements, such as those that apply today in parts of the northeast of England, and finally “national measures. “. “, like those applied between March and May.
“I don’t want that to happen,” and to prevent that it is important that “people come together and recognize that we are facing a serious challenge,” he said.
According to the BBC, the British Executive is evaluating the imposition of new restrictions in England next week, which would include closing bars and restaurants, but keeping schools and workplaces open due to the exponential increase in infections in recent days. .
The Financial Times newspaper says a hypothesis suggested by scientists advising the government is to enact a shorter lockdown to coincide with the interim school holidays in the last week of October, thus limiting the impact on education.
Boris Johnson reiterated that he wanted to avoid a second national lockdown due to the devastating impact on the economy and also promised to increase the testing and service capacity of health services, something that is criticized by the opposition.
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