RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The rate of transmission of the novel coronavirus in Europe is at “alarming” levels, according to the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), after many countries on the continent are once again recording more daily cases than in March and April – the worst moments of the pandemic.
Hans Kluge, the W.H.O.’s regional director for Europe, announced last Thursday, September 19th, that the bloc is experiencing a peak in cases. According to the data, the number of daily infections has actually doubled in many EU countries.
According to Kluge, 300,000 new infections were recorded across Europe last week alone, and weekly cases exceeded those reported during the first peak in March.
After six months of living with the virus and several adjustments to the distancing measures, many European countries are starting to tighten restrictions and assess new confinements.
“We are facing a very serious situation. The new weekly cases in Europe now exceed those recorded during the first peak of the pandemic. Last week, over 300,000 people were infected,” alerted Kluge.
According to the director, the mortality of the virus, which seems to be lower in this second wave of infections, should increase between October and November.
Daily cases double
Over the past two weeks, approximately seven European countries have seen their daily case numbers double. The surge in infections in France, which recorded more than 10,000 cases on Thursday, was the most striking among the hikes in other parts of Europe. This was the highest number ever recorded by the country.
New cases in Germany reached 2,000 on Friday, the highest rise since late April.
Portugal recorded 770 new infections on Thursday, the highest figure in five months, while cases in Spain rose at a slower pace than the previous day, but still by over 4,500. The Czech Republic and Ukraine also broke their respective infection records in one day.
Last Friday, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock did not rule out a second national quarantine and said the escalation of cases and hospital admissions across the UK represent a critical moment. The UK recorded over 4,000 daily infections, a level last seen in early May.
New lockdown on the continent?
With cases rising, countries are beginning to rehearse the reinstatement of some distancing and displacement restriction measures.
Spain, the European country most impacted by Covid-19, has decreed that, as of Monday, September 21st, there will be displacement restrictions in the capital city, Madrid, with some areas of the city blocked.
Residents of these areas will be able to leave their neighborhoods only to address “basic issues” such as work, going to the doctor, or taking their children to school. Furthermore, meetings will be limited to a maximum of six people. Spain records over 640,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and some 30,000 deaths.
France, which has seen its cases break the record of 13,000 infections in a single day, has banned meetings of more than 10 people in public spaces in the city of Nice, which has an incidence three times higher than the rest of the country and is the French region most affected by this second wave of the pandemic.
French Health Minister Olivier Véran conceded that the coronavirus “is very active again” and said that, in addition to Nice, the city of Lyon should also see more severe distancing measures announced “soon”. Since the start of the pandemic, France has recorded approximately 491,000 infections, with some 31,000 deaths.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that a second wave of coronavirus contagion is “inevitable”, but said he does not intend to decree a new quarantine and that the country is considering “all possibilities”.
In the United Kingdom, the number of new daily cases has reached its highest rate since mid-May. The region also had the highest death rate of Covid-19 in Europe, with more than 41,000 deaths recorded since the start of the pandemic.
Neil Ferguson, professor of epidemiology at Imperial College, London, and former government adviser, told the BBC that the country will face a “perfect storm” of infections.
“Right now, we’re at the infection rates we saw in this country in late February, and if we wait another two or four weeks, we’ll be back to mid-March rates, and that will – or can – cause deaths,” Ferguson said.
Unlike its European peers, Italy does not seem to be facing such a severe second wave, so much so that it announced the return of sports competitions with up to 1,000 fans present last Sunday, and reopened most of its schools last Monday.
According to experts, the Italian success in fighting this second wave of cases could be explained by the extensive tracking the country conducts to find and contain cases. It should be noted that Italy was, along with Spain, the European country most affected by the pandemic during its first months. Since the start of the pandemic, over 295,000 Italians have been infected, with approximately 35,000 deaths.
According to the W.H.O., there have been five million confirmed cases and over 228,000 deaths in all of Europe since the start of the pandemic. After the Americas, Europe is the most impacted continent by the coronavirus in absolute figures.
Youths drive pandemic
According to the W.H.O., these new Covid-19 outbreaks on the European continent are directly associated with a significant and worrying increase in the transmission of the virus among the youngest portion of society. According to the organization, a higher incidence of the virus was detected in people between 20 and 39 years of age.
The phenomenon, which can be observed in countries such as France, Germany, and Spain, coincides with the period when restrictions were relaxed and is directly related to the attendance of youths in bars, restaurants, and parties.
As the experts explain, youths can be perfect transmission vectors and worsen the country’s epidemic situation, even though they do not present as many complications from the virus as older patients.
“They [youths] have a responsibility to themselves, to their parents, grandparents, and communities. And now we know how to engage in sound and healthy behavior, so let’s use that knowledge,” Kluge told the BBC.
Source: InfoMoney