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Fears of a third wave of coronavirus are mounting, and Germany is among European countries warning of an “exponential growth” in infections.
Twenty countries in the European Union have reported an increase in the rate of positive tests and 15 have said that hospital admissions or intensive care have increased, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
The sharp increase in infections and the EU’s continuing struggle to achieve its COVID-19 The increase in inoculation has forced some countries to return to the blockade or to reconsider the relaxation of the restrictions.
Germany had eased the restrictions, with the first performance at the Berliner Ensemble theater this week.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said last night: “We have exponential growth … so it is good that we have agreed on an emergency brake and unfortunately we will have to make use of this emergency brake.”
According to an agreement made with state governors two weeks ago, Merkel is supposed to re-impose restrictions in regions where the number of new weekly cases exceeds 100 per 100,000 inhabitants.
On Friday, the the national average stood at 95.6.
Merkel and Germany’s 16 state leaders will meet again on Monday to discuss extending a lockdown that has been in place since mid-December, as well as reversing plans to reopen the economy.
Ms Merkel told reporters: “The motto is ‘vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate.’
But only 8.5% of Germany’s population has received their first dose of the vaccine, far behind countries like the UK and the US.
Germany will send the vaccines directly to GPs, and the vaccines are expected to start in surgeries from mid-April at the latest, while additional doses will be sent to the French and Czech border regions.
Health Minister Jens Spahn has warned that vaccines alone will not be enough to contain the third wave of the pandemic, as there is not enough supply.
Ms Merkel said that Germany would consider ordering doses of the Russian vaccine, Sputnik, but that she would prefer that this move be made by Europe.
Italy is also considering the Russian vaccine, after becoming the third country in Europe to exceed 100,000 deaths last week.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that European coordination has “great added value”, but if the bloc’s response on the health of Italians does not work “then we have to go on our own.”
In France, new restrictions It came into effect at midnight, which will be in effect for at least four weeks, as Prime Minister Jean Castex said the country was facing a “third wave” of the pandemic.
In Poland, where there are more people on respirators than at any time since the start of the pandemic, most businesses and public places will close for three weeks starting today when a new lockdown begins.
Hungary has extended its lockdown for another week and in Bosnia, which has yet to start mass vaccination, began a lockdown in the capital on Friday.
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Even before a three-day break in use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine Last week, fearing it could be related to blood clots, Europe’s vaccination program had been slow. The vaccine was declared “safe and effective” by the bloc’s drug regulator earlier this week.
Dr. Giovanni Rezza, head of prevention at the Italian Ministry of Health, said that the current rate of 200,000 vaccines per day must be doubled to inoculate 80% of the population in September.
Of France’s 67 million inhabitants, 5.9 million had received their first dose on Friday, the country’s health ministry said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said an ’emergency brake’ will be needed
In Bulgaria, only 355,000 out of a population of seven million have received their first dose.
The UK, meanwhile, is approaching 50% of adults who have received the first dose.
Around this time last year, the UK see images of the interior of hospitals in Italyas they struggled to cope with the first wave of the virus. At the time, doctors warned of the spread of the virus, and soon after, British hospitals saw similar scenes.
There is concern that something similar could happen with a third wave out of Europe, but with the added possibility that low vaccination rates across the bloc could lead to new variants capable of evading vaccines that would otherwise keep people alive. except the majority of vulnerable people in the UK. .
