Friday

29th Sep 2023

Europe is back in (partial) lockdown

  • 'Where there has been political division at the national level [and] blatant disrespect for science, confusion has spread and cases and deaths have mounted,' WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned this week (Photo: Catherine Thackstone)

The burden on healthcare systems all across the bloc, as a result of the surge of coronavirus infections, is triggering new nationwide lockdowns and restrictive measures in nearly all EU member states.

Belgium has the highest rate of new coronavirus infections per capita in the EU - followed by the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Slovenia, the Netherlands and France, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Earlier this month, Belgian health officials warned that the country might run out of intensive care beds by mid-November, while the country keeps recording about 14,000 cases daily.

Given the record number of infections and hospitalisations, experts are calling for a second Belgian lockdown ahead of a new consultative committee meeting on the pandemic taking place on Friday (29 October).

"The situation is critical in healthcare. Like in our neighbouring countries, it is time for us to hit the emergency brake: lockdown," tweeted Marc Van Ranst, a virologist who is advising the Belgian government.

New round of lockdowns

With almost half of all intensive care beds at French hospitals being occupied by Covid-19 patients, president Emmanuel Macron introduced a four-week long second lockdown on Wednesday.

Macron urged a collective effort from citizens, warning that the second wave is "likely to be harder and more deadly than the first".

From Friday, French citizens will not be able to leave their homes unless they are going to work, buy essential goods or seek medical attention. Private and public events are not allowed, and university classes will be completely online.

A few hours earlier, German chancellor Angela Merkel announced new restrictions starting on Monday (2 November), comprising the closure of restaurants, bars and some shops, as well as sporting, cultural and recreative facilities.

Other member states, such as Belgium and the Netherlands, previously introduced similar measures to control the number of infections.

Overwhelmed health service fears

Merkel told the Bundestag on Thursday that the new restrictions to reduce social contact were "necessary and proportionate" since that the current rate of infection would overwhelm the healthcare systems within a few weeks.

This week, the Netherlands has started to sent Covid-19 patients to Germany to lower the strain on their health care systems, but Berlin is also in talks to take in people from the Czech Republic.

The Czech army recently placed its first Covid-19 field hospital in Prague with 500 beds, since the country is recording about new 15,000 cases daily.

Like in the spring, restaurants, bars, schools and most non-essential shops in the Czech Republic have closed.

Meanwhile, most Spanish regions have closed their borders for non-essential travel under the six-months state of alarm that was announced last week by the central government.

There is no home confinement, bars and restaurants remain open, but social gatherings are restricted to six people.

Italy, one of the most affected countries during the first wave, has also introduced new measures to curb the number of infections, including the closure of theatres and swimming pools as well as bars and restaurants after 6PM.

As the daily tally of new coronavirus cases hit a new record on Thursday, the Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz advanced that tighter restrictions will be unveiled on Saturday.

There are few places not seeing a sharp surge in coronavirus infections, mostly the Scandinavian and Baltic countries as well as Greece and Norway.

Nevertheless, the northern and northwestern Greek regions of Serres and Ioannina went officially under lockdown on Thursday, after cases have been rising rapidly since early October.

ECB intervention

The president of European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, pledged on Thursday to take action in December to counter the negative impact of the second wave on the economy.

"An ambitious coordinated fiscal stance remains critical," Lagarde said, adding that cash from the EU's €750bn recovery fund should be made available to member states with no delay.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that nearly half (46 percent) of all new cases worldwide reported this week were recorded in the European region - including Russia, Turkey, Israel and Central Asia.

The continent has seen a 33-percent increase in the number of new cases compared to the previous week, reporting over 1.3 million new cases this past week.

However, the proportion of deaths remains relatively low compared to the first wave.

"When leaders act quickly and deliberately, the virus can be suppressed. But, where there has been political division at the national level [and] blatant disrespect for science and health professionals, confusion has spread and cases and deaths have mounted," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this week at a media briefing from Geneva.

"A pandemic is not a political football. Wishful thinking or deliberate diversion will not prevent transmissions or save lives," he added, urging to stop "the politicisation" of the pandemic.

EU Commission's Covid-19 expert offers bleak outlook

Belgian microbiologist Peter Piot offered a bleak assessment of available options to rid the world of the pandemic caused by Covid-19. Aside from wishful thinking, millions of possible deaths, and crushing poverty, a vaccine appears to be the only solution.

Stakeholder

Post-Covid is a different world - EU needs to secure a role

The Covid-19 crisis shook up the world profoundly, and we haven't found the politics to cope with it yet. That is the harsh but undeniable conclusion of a new parliamentary report by Renew Europe MEP Hilde Vautmans.

EU waters down Covid-19 traffic-light travel zones concept

EU countries are set to adopt a 'traffic-light' colour-coding system for coronavirus-affected areas. But member states will have the possibility to set their own strategies, on negative Covid-19 tests or different quarantine periods, for orange and red zones.

Poland's culture of fear after three years of abortion 'ban'

Poland in 2020 imposed a near-total ban on abortion, triggering mass protests — and today the demands for access to safe abortion continue. On International Safe Abortion Day, dozens gathered in Brussels calling for solidarity among member states.

EU Ombudsman warns of 'new normal' of crisis decision-making

Emily O'Reilly cited the post-pandemic recovery funds, the windfall taxes on energy companies, and the joint purchase of vaccines, as procedures which received limited scrutiny from the national parliaments — as a result of emergency decision-making powers that bypassed parliament.

Opinion

Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling

Vasco Alves Cordeiro, president of the European Committee of the Regions, is advocating a revamp of the EU's regional policy so that it better supports all regions in addressing major challenges such as the green and digital transitions.

Opinion

How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?

The EU Commission's new magic formula for avoiding scrutiny is simple. You declare the documents in question to be "short-lived correspondence for a preliminary exchange of views" and thus exempt them from being logged in the official inventory.

Latest News

  1. Punish Belarus too for aiding Putin's Ukraine war
  2. Added-value for Russia diamond ban, as G7 and EU prepare sanctions
  3. EU states to agree on asylum crisis bill, say EU officials
  4. Poland's culture of fear after three years of abortion 'ban'
  5. Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling
  6. Germany tightens police checks on Czech and Polish border
  7. EU Ombudsman warns of 'new normal' of crisis decision-making
  8. How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  2. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  2. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  3. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  4. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us