Europe faces new surge of COVID cases
Restrictions across Madrid extended, Paris placed on maximum virus alert
The revelation on Oct 2 that US President Donald Trump had the coronavirus contributed to heightened anxieties over its global spread, including in Europe, where leaders had already been mulling tighter movement controls.
Spain’s leaders extended drastic restrictions across the capital Madrid. Bars in Paris, meanwhile, must now stay closed for two weeks from Oct 6 after French authorities put the city on maximum coronavirus alert to arrest a rise in infections. Paris restaurants are being allowed to remain open if they implement tougher sanitary measures.
The pandemic had killed more than 1.06 million people around the world and infected over 36.2 million as of Oct 8, according to the tally by Johns Hopkins University.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Oct 6 said the government was ready to do more to support the bar and restaurant sector, one of the worst hit by the pandemic. He told Franceinfo radio that new details could be unveiled next week.
“We’re in a phase where the situation is worsening,” French Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Oct 1.
French authorities consider bars to be major infection hot spots because patrons do not respect social distancing rules as much as they do at restaurants.
Authorities have maintained the limit of 1,000 spectators per day at big sports events, allowing the RolandGarros tennis tournament to continue as planned this week.
France, one of the hardest hit countries in Europe, has reported 32,445 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. The cumulative number of cases is more than 653,000.
Spain, fighting a second wave of the virus, extended the restrictions in the capital despite fierce opposition from Madrid’s regional authorities. Madrid has been struggling with a rate of 780 cases per 100,000 people, compared with just 300 per 100,000 in the rest of Spain — which in itself is the highest in the European Union.
The country’s health authorities have rolled out a new rapid antigen test that gives results in 15 minutes, is more than 95 percent accurate in detecting COVID-19 infection, and costs less than $6.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a stark warning to the United Kingdom, saying the coronavirus pandemic may be “bumpy through to Christmas” as the country continues to see a sharp rise in infections.
“I’ve got to tell you in all candor it’s going to continue to be bumpy through to Christmas, it may even be bumpy beyond,” he said in an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.
“This could be a very tough winter for all of us — we’ve got to face that fact,” Johnson said.
Britain’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance told reporters: “Things are definitely heading in the wrong direction.”
The government has extended lockdowns to several towns in northern England, effectively putting more than one-fourth of the country under tighter restrictions.
In the sporting world, Italian football suffered a blow with the postponement of Genoa’s weekend match against Torino because team and staff members at the Ligurian club tested positive for COVID-19.
Italy had tallied 3,678 new cases as of Oct 8 — currently the highest daily total in the past five months. It reported more than 330,000 cases thus far.
The Italian government is considering
whether to make the wearing of masks outdoors mandatory nationwide amid a steady, nine-week increase in infections.
Several regions have already imposed outdoor mask mandates in a bid to curb the rebound in infections.
In Switzerland, crowds returned to stadiums for the first time since the pandemic began, but Health Minister Alain Berset said the Alpine country was entering a “delicate phase” of its battle against the virus.
In contrast to Europe, Australia and New Zealand are faring better. New daily infections in Australia’s hot-spot state Victoria had fallen to a near four-month low, authorities said on Oct 2. Victoria posted 11 new daily cases on Oct 7.
Both countries announced a partial opening of their borders to travel between the two. But New Zealand will continue to insist on travelers from Australia going into hotel quarantine for two weeks on arrival.
In Africa, the continent’s worst-hit nation, South Africa, saw the first batch of regional and international flights land on Oct 1 after an aviation shutdown of more than six months.
Travelers from the United States are among those who have been barred from entry because of their countries’ high infection rates. Visitors from Britain, France, India and Russia have also been kept out of South Africa.