Restrictions in England, Italy as US infections soar
England went into its second lockdown of the year on Thursday after the House of Commons approved the legislation that mentions the period will end on December 2, but the Boris Johnson government has not ruled out extending it if necessary.
The basic message of the lockdown is to ‘stay at home’. Unlike the first lockdown that began on March 23, the second lockdown is likely to be enforced more vigorously by the police. Home secretary Priti Patel told the police they are expected to “strengthen enforcement”.
England’s 56 million people joined much of western Europe in a second coronavirus lockdown, as the United States set a fresh daily record with close to 100,000 new infections.
European governments are struggling to contain a fresh wave of the pandemic, which has now infected more than 11 million across the continent.
Parts of Italy will also face restrictions from Friday, with shops selling non-essential goods to be shut in hard-hit areas and people largely confined to their homes except for work, health and emergency reasons. Authorities have also announced a nationwide curfew between 10:00pm and 5:00am local time. “We don’t have alternatives,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said during a press conference on Wednesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said he had no plans for a lockdown but that resolve may be tested after the country set two new records Wednesday - for daily infections, at nearly 20,000, and daily death toll, at nearly 400.
Other drastic measures were planned for Denmark, where authorities said they would cull the country’s entire mink population “as soon as possible”.
The Scandinavian nation is the world’s largest exporter of mink fur but the creatures have been found to carry a mutated version of the virus that has spread to humans.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that discovery could threaten the effectiveness of any future Covid-19 vaccine. Twothirds of his government is currently in isolation after the justice minister tested positive.
Several animal species have also tested positive since the Covid-19 pandemic began and there have been reported cases at mink farms in the Netherlands and Spain.
“In a few instances, the minks that were infected by humans have transmitted the virus to other people,” the World Health Organization said in a statement.
The United States recorded its worst ever daily caseload 99,660, according to Johns Hopkins University - as the winner of the country’s presidential election was still being determined. There were 1,112 deaths Wednesday, according to the same tally.
More than 9.4 million people have been infected and 233,000 have died in the United States since the disease was first detected in China late last year.
Infection rates have surged to record highs across the country since last month, especially in the north and the Midwest.