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Many governments in Europe rely on night curfews and other contact restrictions to avoid a complete blockade of countries.
Over the weekend, several EU countries reported a record number of new coronavirus infections, including France, Denmark, Belgium and the Czech Republic. The European epidemic authority ECDC had recorded a total of around 5.9 million infections and a good number of 208,600 deaths related to the corona virus since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Ends at 6pm in Italy
Starting Monday, all countrywide restaurants and bars in Italy must close at 6pm for guests. The opening of cinemas, theaters, gyms, swimming pools, ski resorts and concert halls is also not allowed. The majority of Italian high school students are initially taught online. Also in Slovakia, students are required to switch to online lessons from fifth grade on.
In Denmark, no more than ten people are allowed to gather in one place as of Monday. Kiosks and supermarkets can no longer sell alcohol after 10:00 pm In and around the Belgian capital Brussels, it is again mandatory to wear a mask, the night curfew starts at 10:00 pm instead of the midnight. Swimming pools, sports clubs and fitness studios must close, as well as theaters, cinemas and museums.
Another state of emergency in Spain
Spain had already imposed a national emergency on Sunday, as it did during the first Corona wave in spring, to allow night curfews. The government wants the state of emergency to apply until next May if possible.
In France, the night curfew has been in effect since Saturday for around two-thirds of the country’s residents, or around 46 million people. The curfew applies to 54 departments and the French overseas territory of French Polynesia. During the night, people can only go outside if there is a valid reason.
Austria is considering a second lockdown
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has put a second block on the room. If the current sharp rise in new corona infections cannot be stopped, that would be the last resort, Kurz said in Vienna on Monday.
The criterion for this is the location in the clinics. “No country in the world will allow intensive care medicine to be overwhelmed,” Kurz said. In Austria, the impending collapse of the healthcare system is a legal requirement for closure.
Health Minister Rudolf Anschober was recently very confident that the measures introduced so far were sufficient to control development. As of Sunday, this has included a maximum limit of six people for private indoor celebrations and twelve people outdoors. More recently, record levels of new infections have been recorded practically every day in Austria. Currently, development is significantly worse than in Germany, for example.
Slovakia tests population
In Slovakia, meanwhile, the first phase of an unprecedented test of nearly the entire coronavirus population ended Sunday night. Since Friday, under the direction of the Defense Ministry, all residents over the age of ten have undergone a rapid antigen test in four specially affected districts on the border with Poland. The rest of the country should follow in the next two weekends, around five million people after all. The Bratislava government sees this project as an example that could also be followed by other European countries.
