Infections rise in southern Europe as north locks down

CORONAVIRUS cases are on the rise in parts of southern Europe after weeks of relatively low numbers, as soaring infection rates in more northerly countries are being met with lockdowns.

In the past week, Spain and Italy have seen daily cases rise by more than a third and 20 per cent to 208 per million and 218 per million respectively.

In Italy, 17,030 cases were reported on Friday, the highest since April. France, too, has seen a big rise from 378 per million to 545 per million.

Just a month ago, Spain was in a reasonably comfortable position. “As far as vaccines go, in Spain there’s just a wide consensus – follow the recommendations of the scientists,” said Salvador Illa, its former health minister.

While their cases lag far below recent peaks in the UK, Austria and the Netherlands, the uptick has worried experts.

Professor Martin McKee, at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “It’s still well below the UK [where cases are at 651 per million] but it’s not looking good.”

He said colder weather in southern Europe, prompting indoor socialising, could be behind the rise in cases.

Elsewhere, restrictions and lockdowns imposed in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic have seen infection rates either stall or begin to decline in the past few days.

However, they remain high: between 1,748 per million in the Czech Republic and 685 per million in Germany.

As in the UK, the link between cases and deaths has been considerably weakened by vaccination, so death rates have remained below previous peaks.

Death rates in Spain and Italy are comparatively very low, but have started to creep upwards. Both countries have more than 85 per cent fully vaccinated. They have also started to re-introduce restrictions in recent weeks to head off the omicron variant.

Spain has maintained obligatory face masks indoors, and eight of its 17 regions have introduced Covid passports for indoor bars and restaurants.

Italy will introduce a “Super Green Pass” next week, boosting its version of a Covid passport to only allow the vaccinated or recently recovered to go to restaurants, museums, cinemas and sports events. It will also start vaccinating children aged over 5.

France is focusing on a renewed vaccination drive, including boosters.

On Friday, new modelling in the UK highlighted a paper from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, suggesting that countries in Europe with “lower vaccine coverage among older age groups, relatively low prior exposure and older populations” were at risk of higher deaths and hospitalisations among the elderly.

Austria, Germany and the Netherlands were among those highlighted.