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Germany’s federal and state governments agreed on Wednesday to shut down parts of the economy and tighten restrictions on social contact, in a bid to halt a record spike in coronavirus infection rates.
As rising infections fanned alarm across the continent, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a new month-long national lockdown.
The shares fell to their lowest level since May. The region-wide Stoxx 600 Index fell 3 percent on Wednesday and has lost more than 5 percent since the end of last week, as the local markets of Frankfurt, Paris and London have suffered selling streaks. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index closed 3.5 percent lower. London’s FTSE fell 2.8 percent.
The new regulations in Germany will be imposed from Monday and will last until the end of November. They require that all restaurants, bars and most public entertainment be closed. Bundesliga football matches and other professional sporting events will be held without spectators. Schools, daycares, hair salons and retailers will remain open.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday: “We have to act, and act now, to prevent an acute national health emergency.”
He acknowledged that the measures that are being introduced are “tough. . . and onerous ”. “It is a difficult day for political decision makers,” he added.
Merkel will meet again with regional heads of state in two weeks, according to a statement released after the meeting, in order to assess the effectiveness of the measures and make the necessary adjustments.
In a televised address to the French nation on Wednesday night, Macron said: “Like all our neighbors, we are submerged by the acceleration of the virus.” He warned that the “second wave” would be “probably tougher and more murderous than the first.”
French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation on Wednesday night © Reuters
Macron said the blockade, which involves travel restrictions, the closure of borders to non-EU travelers and the closure of all bars and restaurants, would be different from the tax in the spring because schools, factories and businesses would remain open. , while visits to nursing homes and funerals.
“The economy must not stop or collapse,” he said.
The French lockdown will apply from midnight on Thursday until at least the beginning of December. The spring lockdown lasted from mid-March to mid-May and drastically reduced the spread of the coronavirus.
Earlier in the day in Brussels, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, announced plans to improve testing and tracking for coronavirus across the EU as part of a package of measures triggered by the resurgence of the pandemic in Europe. .
Speaking ahead of a video conference of the first and EU presidents on Thursday, Ms Von der Leyen said that the Covid-19 situation was “very serious” and required a stronger response from the EU.
Professor Peter Piot, head of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and special adviser to Ms Von der Leyen, warned that the number of new infections now emerging in the EU is “really staggering”.
“The resurgence that we are seeing now after the initial successes during the summer shows how fragile these advances are,” he said. “We relax too much the measures that basically refer to behavior – [and] we are paying a high price. “
On Tuesday, France reported 523 deaths from Covid-19 during the previous 24 hours, the highest total since April 22. In Germany, coronavirus cases rose by 11,409 to 449,275 on Tuesday.
Trends in the two major EU powers reflect a broader continental tilt as countries struggle to cope with large increases in the number of cases. Some have said they fear hospitals will be overwhelmed unless more severe social controls are imposed.
Belgium, the seat of the EU, is the second most affected country of the 31 that make up the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, according to data published this Wednesday by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. Belgium had a 14-day cumulative number of 1,424.2 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people, only behind the Czech Republic with 1,448.7. France suffered 659.9 cases, the United Kingdom 424.1 and Germany 156.2.
In the UK, more English regions braced for new restrictions when the British government announced 310 deaths from Covid-19 the day before.
With Downing Street science advisers advocating for the entire country to adopt tighter restrictions by December, one attendee said: “We are looking at the data every day and the last two days in particular have been increasingly worrying.”
The British government is preparing for the “worst planning scenario” of 85,000 dead in a second wave, with 356,000 in the hospital, even under a partial blockade until next April, according to an official July 30 document published today on the site. web Spectator. .
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Additional information from Jim Pickard in London
