How it all went wrong (again) in Europe as second wave grips continent

Daily case numbers in the European Union and United Kingdom this week reached document highs of greater than 45,000 on a 14-day notification price, in keeping with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and new restrictions are being imposed in locations that had been effectively into reopening. Leaders have raised fears over the stress that hospitals might face in coming months and the looming prospect of latest nationwide lockdowns.

The second wave

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday informed reporters that the UK is “now seeing a second wave coming in” and that it was “inevitable.”

“Obviously we’re looking very carefully at the spread of the pandemic as it evolves over the last few days,” Johnson stated. “There’s no question, as I’ve said for weeks now, that we could (and) are now seeing a second wave coming in. We are seeing it in France, in Spain, across Europe. It has been absolutely inevitable we will see it in this country.

“I do not need to go into second nationwide lockdown. The solely approach we are able to do that’s if folks comply with the steering.”

British Health Minister Matt Hancock said Sunday that the country was “at a tipping level” following a new rise in cases on Saturday, when Britain registered 4,422 new cases, the highest number since early May.

“People should comply with the principles and if they do not, we are going to convey in this far more stringent measures,” Matt Hancock said in a BBC interview. When asked about re-imposing a second national lockdown, the minister said: “I do not rule it out. I do not need to see it.”

The UK announced Sunday that anyone who tests positive for coronavirus or has been traced as a close contact will be required by law to self-isolate from September 28 or face fines from £1,000 ($1,300) to £10,000 ($13,000) for repeat offenders. Those with lower incomes will be supported by a £500 ($650) payment, according to a government statement.

The UK has the highest number of deaths in Europe at more than 40,000 and new restrictions on social gatherings were imposed across England this week.

New restrictions were also announced on Friday in Madrid, which accounts for approximately a third of all new cases in Spain, according to the Spanish Health Ministry. The country reported a record 12,183 daily cases on September 11, and has the highest number of cases in Europe at more than 600,000, with more than 30,000 deaths.

The Czech Republic reported a record 3,130 daily infections Friday as masks were made mandatory in schools again, and the Netherlands reported a record 1,977 cases. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told a news conference that the country’s number of daily infections was doubling in just over a week. “With an R of 1.4, that quantity will develop in three weeks to greater than 10,000 per day,” he said.

“You do not must be a mathematician or virologist to grasp that these sorts of numbers will inevitably work into the hospitals,” he warned.

Restaurants, cafes, and bars in six Dutch regions will face new restrictions starting Sunday.

Italy recorded its highest tally since May on Friday with 1,907 daily cases; Poland recorded a record 1,002 daily cases on Saturday.

Where it went wrong

WHO Europe director Hans Kluge warned this week of “alarming charges of transmission” and a “very severe state of affairs” in the region, adding that weekly cases have exceeded those reported during the March peak.

In late August, Kluge said the gradual increase in Europe’s cases could be partly explained by “the comfort of public well being and social measures, the place authorities have been easing a number of the restrictions and other people have been dropping their guard.”

He stated he was “very involved that increasingly younger persons are counted amongst reported circumstances,” advising against large gatherings and parties.

In several countries, cases are rising particularly fast in densely populated cities, where people are returning to offices, schools and public places after measures eased following spring’s peak.

Like Spain, Austria has seen its biggest spike in its capital. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told national Austrian news agency APA last Sunday that the situation was ”particularly dramatic” in Vienna, which has more than half of all registered new infections.

”We are originally of the second wave. We are dealing with troublesome months in the autumn and winter. The variety of infections is growing from everyday,” he stated in a tweet, asking Austrians to cut back social contacts as the duty to put on face masks was expanded to extra public locations.

Turkey recorded 63 deaths in 24 hours this week, its highest one-day demise rely. Turkish well being minister Fahrettin Koca stated at his weekly coronavirus information briefing on September 2 that the nation was “in the second peak of the first wave.”

“We are at this threshold today because of the movement around the holiday period and weddings which are integral parts of our traditions.”

Authorities in Italy stated in late August that roughly 50% of latest infections had been contracted throughout summer season holidays, across the nation and overseas, primarily amongst younger adults who haven’t been cautious with social distancing and mask-wearing tips.

But Europe can take some consolation from expertise. Professor Mark Woolhouse, an epidemiologist on the University of Edinburgh, informed CNN earlier this month that the preliminary lockdown was “never, ever going to solve the problem for us in Europe or anywhere else; it was simply deferring it.”