France, Germany return to lockdown
BERLIN/PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel ordered their countries back into lockdown yesterday, as a massive second wave of Covid19 infections threatened to overwhelm Europe before the winter.
World stock markets went into a dive in response to the news that Europe’s biggest economies were imposing nationwide restrictions almost as severe as the ones that drove the global economy this year into its deepest recession in generations.
‘‘The virus is circulating at a speed that not even the most pessimistic forecasts had anticipated,’’ Macron said in a televised address.
‘‘Like all our neighbours, we are submerged by the sudden acceleration of the virus.
‘‘We are all in the same position: overrun by a second wave which we know will be harder, more deadly than the first.
‘‘I have decided that we need to return to the lockdown which stopped the virus.’’
Under the new French measures which come into force today, people will be required to stay in their homes except to buy essential goods, seek medical attention, or exercise for up to one hour a day. They will be permitted to go to work if their employer deems it impossible for them to do the job from home. Schools will stay open.
As in the darkest days of spring, anyone leaving their home in France will now have to carry a document justifying being outside, which can be checked by police.
Germany will shut bars, restaurants and theatres from November 230 under measures agreed between Merkel and heads of regional governments.
Schools will stay open, and shops will be allowed to operate with strict limits on access.
‘‘We need to take action now,’’ Merkel said.
‘‘Our health system can still cope with this challenge today, but at this speed of infections it will reach the limits of its capacity within weeks.’’
German finance minister Olaf Scholz posted on Twitter, ‘‘November will be a month of truth. The increasing numbers of infections are forcing us to take tough countermeasures in order to break the second wave.’’
France has surged above 36,000 new cases a day. Germany, which was less hardhit than its European neighbours early this year, has had an exponential rise in cases.
In the US, a new wave of infections has been setting records with less than a week until election day. President Donald Trump has played down the virus and shows no sign of cancelling public rallies, where his supporters often refuse to wear masks or keep a safe distance.
While leaders have been desperate to avoid the crippling cost of lockdowns, the new restrictions reflect alarm at the galloping pace of the pandemic from