Pandemic’s second wave takes a firm hold of Europe

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has taken Europe in its grip with a vengeance. The much-feared second wave of the pandemic has arrived across the continent, sooner and more fervently than expected. Last weekend’s mood was reminiscent of that fatal weekend in mid-March, when country after country went into lockdown and borders closed one by one. European governments are trying to do whatever they can to avoid a repeat of the outright lockdowns seen in March. However, the measures required to respond to the case numbers spiraling out of control are drastic nonetheless.

What governments fear is that, as case numbers rise, the virus will again spread to vulnerable groups and that hospitals’ intensive care units will either not have enough beds or enough staff, or both, to cater for all the patients requiring treatment. Who could forget the scenes in Italy in the spring, when emergency room staff effectively had to decide whose life to save?

Across Europe, government deficits have been growing because of the necessary COVID-19 support measures like furlough schemes and direct subsidies. Many travelers also face a quagmire of ever-changing quarantine rules, making cross-border air travel unpredictable, if not impossible.

All of the above raises many questions.

What measures are commensurate with the threat? How will freedom-loving Europeans react to the renewed restrictions placed on their lives? How much more can the continent’s economies take, especially the hard-hit hospitality sector and airlines? What to do about people who fall through the cracks, like artists or the self-employed?

Cornelia Meyer is a Ph.D.level economist with 30 years of experience in investment banking and industry. She is chairperson and CEO of business consultancy Meyer Resources.

All of these topics were discussed in the press and on television talk shows across Europe. What broadly transpired were the following four points.

Firstly, people are tired and scared for their livelihoods. While they endured the lockdown in spring, they thought that, if they could just get over this hump, life would return to normal. Alas, it did not. While most citizens understand the need to comply with government restrictions, there are others who refuse. Secondly, while governments and most opposition parties, other than the far-right populists, broadly agreed on the measures in the spring, this is no longer the case. Painting things with a broad brush, the more rightwing, pro-business politicians question the necessity of the lockdowns out of fear for what the new measures mean for the economy. The center-left (social democrats, greens, etc.), meanwhile, puts public health concerns above the economic imperative.

Thirdly, many populist parties, such as Alternative for Germany and France’s National Rally, were caught on the back foot by the virus. Ever since the pandemic spread to Europe, their pet peeve of immigration has mattered far less than the danger posed by the virus. They have found it difficult to adjust. Fourthly, and importantly, there is awareness that the virus will be with us for some time to come, making our lives anywhere from more difficult to outright impossible; and that there is nowhere to hide.

For now, we should all take care of our families, neighbors and especially the weak, whether they are in a high-risk health group or are poor. We must make sure that nobody falls through the cracks. History will judge us on these parameters.