Saturday

2nd Dec 2023

EU fears 'alarming' third wave, as bloc back in lockdown

  • The so-called UK variant, which is up to 75-percent more transmissible, is now the dominant strain in the EU (Photo: European Parliament)

The European Commission has raised concerns about the "alarming" epidemiological situation in some member states, warning that it could worsen in the coming weeks as a third wave of the pandemic hits the continent.

"We are facing again an exceptional situation," the EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides told a press conference on Wednesday (24 March).

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

Coronavirus infections are soaring in 19 out of 27 member states - with 15 countries seeing an increase of hospitalisations and eight reporting an increase in the number of fatalities, she added.

"The situation is concerning because we have seen the increase in the number of [coronavirus] variants in the recent weeks," Kyriakides said, warning variants remain an "urgent threat" that must be addressed swiftly.

The so-called UK variant, which is up to 75 percent more transmissible, is now dominant in the EU, although the South African and the Brazilian mutations have also been detected in several EU countries.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, an EU agency based in Stockholm, previously warned that countries where the UK variant has become predominant, have seen "increased hospitalisations, overstretched health systems and excess mortality".

The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Sweden, Poland and Slovakia currently have the highest infection rates in the EU (more than 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) - a situation which has triggered harder lockdowns and additional restrictive measures, amid the slow rollout of vaccines.

The Czech Republic has the EU's highest-infection rate and the highest cumulative death toll in the world in per-capita terms.

But infections are also at - or close to - record numbers in several member states, including Finland, Estonia, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary.

Poland, for example, has reported the highest number of new daily cases since the start of the pandemic - with the UK variant representing about 60 percent of new infections.

As a result, many countries have now introduced or increased lockdown measures for the coming weeks, covering the Easter holidays.

Additionally, several countries have put in place unilateral restrictions for non-essential travel in a bid to curb the number of infections - including Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Slovakia.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, German chancellor Angela Merkel announced a U-turn on lockdown restrictions for Easter, which had included the closure of all businesses for five days.

She said that the plans to place the country under strict lockdown over the Easter holidays were her personal mistake.

"We must try to slow down the third wave of the pandemic. Nevertheless, it was a mistake… at the end of the day, I carry the last responsibility," Merkel said during a press conference, according to the German press.

For comparison, Croatia, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Ireland and Portugal have reported the lowest infection rate in the bloc.

Vaccine-resistant variants?

The European Commission announced on Wednesday a roadmap to allow a fast-track regulatory approval of updated vaccines.

"We need to be prepared to adapt vaccines as quickly as possible to respond to new and potentially vaccine-resistant variants," said Kyriakides.

Building on the approach for adapted influenza (flu) vaccines, companies will not be obliged to submit an entire file from scratch.

Moreover, manufacturers will be able to ask for the approval of different modified vaccines under the same marketing authorisation application.

Both MEPs and member states still have to give green light to the proposal.

EU failing on tracking new Covid-19 variants, MEPs told

The majority of countries in Europe are falling short on tracking coronavirus variants. Only seven member states have increased genome sequencing to the level recommended for detecting and monitoring the emergence and dominance of these strains.

Covid variants put Schengen under pressure

The EU Commission also raised concerns about the proportionality of Belgium's ban on non-essential travel, for people wishing to leave the country.

Member states stall on EU ban on forced-labour products

More than two years after the EU Commission first proposed a law on forced labour, inter-institutional negotiations have not started because member states cannot reach agreement — risking the text's adoption before the 2024 European Parliament elections.

Strikes across Europe squeeze Amazon on 'Black Friday'

On one of its most profitable retail days of the year, Black Friday, online giant Amazon faces a wave of protests and demonstrations in more than 30 countries demanding better wages, fair tax payments and greater accountability for the planet.

Opinion

'Pay or okay?' — Facebook & Instagram vs the EU

Since last week, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta corporation is forcing its European users to either accept their intrusive privacy practices — or pay €156 per year to access Facebook and Instagram without tracking advertising.

Opinion

My experience trying to negotiate with Uber

After working with people in unusual employment situations for a decade, I thought I had seen it all as a union organiser. Then I began dealing with Uber.

Latest News

  1. Israel's EU ambassador: 'No clean way to do this operation'
  2. Brussels denies having no 'concern' on Spain's amnesty law
  3. Dubai's COP28 — a view from the ground
  4. Germany moves to criminalise NGO search-and-rescue missions
  5. Israel recalls ambassador to Spain in new diplomatic spat
  6. Migrant return bill 'obstructed' as EU states mull new position
  7. Paris and Berlin key to including rape in gender-violence directive
  8. What are the big money debates at COP28 UN climate summit?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  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. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us