Tuesday

21st Mar 2023

EU countries tighten restrictions as infections surge

  • Two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine are needed against the Delta variant - but only 49.5 percent of Europeans are fully-vaccinated (Photo: European Commission)

Europe continues to be one of the most-affected regions in the world by the surge of Covid-19 cases, driven by the spread of the more contagious Delta variant and relaxation of measures.

As of Monday (19 July), there have been more than 33 million cases reported in Europe - with Cyprus, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg recording the highest number of infections.

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

By contrast, Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia have all reported less than 10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks.

In the most-affected countries, the steepest increases in the number of cases were reported among younger age groups, who tend to be not fully-vaccinated, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Cyprus is now reporting more than 1,000 new Covid cases per day - leading the government to tighten restrictions, triggering protests in the country.

From this week, a coronavirus-safe pass for vaccinated people is needed to enter certain places such as supermarkets, malls, restaurants and other businesses.

French president Emmanuel Macron also said that a health pass (proving vaccination status or recent negative test) will be required to attend festivals, cinemas, cafes, restaurants, hospitals, long-distance trains and planes from the beginning of August.

For its part, Spain's health ministry announced on Monday 61,628 new cases of coronavirus - an increase of 63 percent on last week.

According to the Spanish newspaper El País, one-in-every-30 people aged between 20 and 29 has tested positive for coronavirus in the last 14 days.

In Portugal, new daily case numbers have been increasing steadily in recent weeks - with similar figures than those seen in February when the country was under strict lockdown.

The Portuguese government has reintroduced a night-time curfew in several municipalities. Currently, the delta variant represents more than 80 percent of cases in Portugal.

Meanwhile, new cases in the Netherlands have jumped in the last weeks, prompting an apology from the country's prime minister Mark Rutte for lifting restrictions too soon.

According to the Dutch government, the majority of new cases were among people - with four-out-of-10 infections linked to nightlife.

Last week, the Netherlands reimposed some restrictions, including working from home.

In Luxembourg, authorities said that the sudden spike in infections, especially affecting younger unvaccinated people, is linked to the events related to National Day, which took place on 23 June.

Yet, health officials expect a return to a lower rate of infection in the coming weeks.

The Delta variant, first found in India, is expected to make up 90-percent of infections in Europe by the end of August.

All jabs approved in the EU - BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson&Johnson - appeared to be effective against the Delta variant when both doses are administrated in the case of two-shots jabs.

But only 66.3 percent of Europeans have received one dose, while 49.5 percent are fully vaccinated.

The EU has already delivered enough Covid-19 vaccines to fully vaccinate 70 percent of the adult population in the 27 member states.

Delta variant poses 'mandatory' vaccination dilemma for EU

The spread of the more contagious Delta variant has prompted authorities in member states to accelerate inoculation campaigns, and even make vaccination mandatory - in a bid to halt the new surge of cases and avoid lockdowns in the autumn.

Analysis

The EU's Covid-19 certificate - how it will work?

As some member states start issuing the EU's Covid-19 certificate, EUobserver takes a look at what the bloc is doing to restore unrestricted travel in the bloc - a right that has been restricted, even prohibited, during the pandemic.

Opinion

Covid-19 pandemic - why was the ECDC so ineffective?

The Covid-19 crisis has revealed that the current European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has neither the funding, the staff or – perhaps most importantly – the authority to lead an effective response to a pandemic in Europe.

Opinion

When geopolitics trump human rights, we are all losers

The EU must back the UN's Human Rights 75 initiative at the end of the year to rekindle the spirit of the original declaration made in 1948 — and also demand a similar recommitment from all its 27 members.

Opinion

Why can't we stop marches glorifying Nazism on EU streets?

Every year, neo-Nazis come together to pay tribute to Nazi war criminals and their collaborators, from Benito Mussolini to Rudolf Hess, Ante Pavelić, Hristo Lukov, and of course Adolf Hitler, in events that have become rituals on the extreme-right calendar.

Latest News

  1. Turkey's election — the Erdoğan vs Kılıçdaroğlu showdown
  2. When geopolitics trump human rights, we are all losers
  3. EU starts talks on 11th round of Russia sanctions
  4. EU fears Tunisia turmoil will spark migrant boat departures
  5. 'Symbolic' Putin indictment gets some EU backing
  6. 'Final warning' to act on climate change, warns IPCC
  7. 'No one is unemployable': the French social experiment
  8. Why can't we stop marches glorifying Nazism on EU streets?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality
  5. Promote UkraineInvitation to the National Demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine on 25.02.2023
  6. Azerbaijan Embassy9th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 1st Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us