From the BBC:
“Covid:
Spain imposes national night-time curfew to curb infections”
Spain has
declared a national state of emergency and imposed a night-time curfew in an
effort to help control a new spike in Covid-19 infections. Prime Minister Pedro
Sánchez said the curfew, between the hours of 23:00 and 06:00, would come into
force on Sunday. Under the emergency measures, local authorities can also ban
travel between regions, Mr Sánchez said. He said he would ask parliament to
extend the new rules, initially in force for 15 days, to six months. Spain was
hit hard during the first wave of the pandemic earlier this year and imposed a
much more restrictive lockdown - one of the toughest in the world. Like many
other European regions, however, it has been hit by a second wave of
infections.
What are
Spain's emergency measures? Mr Sánchez said different regions would have up
to an hour of flexibility if they wanted to modify the duration of the
overnight curfew. He said restrictions on movement between districts
would be determined by regional leaders and was likely to be dependent on work
and medical needs. The new measures announced include a limit on public
and private gatherings of different households to a maximum of six people. "The
situation we are going through is extreme," Mr Sánchez said in a televised
address on Sunday, adding: "It is the most serious in the past half
century." More than half of Spain's 17 regions had been calling for
tighter restrictions, and the latest measures will apply to all regions except
the Canary Islands. The same level of emergency was introduced during
the first wave of the pandemic in April. Spain has passed one million
cases since it began and nearly 35,000 people have died.
What is
Italy doing to curb infections? Italy is shutting cinemas, swimming pools
and gyms from Monday. Bars, restaurants and ice-cream stands will have
to close by 18:00, but shops and the majority of businesses will remain
operating. Italy's measures were agreed between Prime Minister Giuseppe
Conte and regional leaders. "We think that we will suffer a bit
this month but by gritting our teeth with these restrictions, we'll be able to
breathe again in December," Mr Conte told a news conference on Sunday. The
prime minister has said he does not want to repeat the national lockdown
imposed during the first wave in March and April because of the economic damage
caused. Under the new measures, the bulk of secondary school teaching
will be conducted online instead of in the classroom. The Italian move
comes amid demonstrations in Naples, and then Rome, against stricter
coronavirus measures, including curfews announced last week. Saturday
saw a new daily record of cases in Italy of more than 19,600. The number of
deaths was 151.
What is the
latest from elsewhere in Europe? Covid case numbers, hospital admissions
and deaths have been increasing across Europe. According to the latest
data from the World Health Organization (WHO), Sunday was the third consecutive
day to see a record high in reported infections - with 465,319 cases confirmed.
Some of the
latest developments across Europe include:
Bulgaria's
Prime Minister Boiko Borisov confirmed in a Facebook post on Sunday that he had
tested positive for Covid-19. He said he was experiencing mild symptoms and was
self-isolating
In the Czech
Republic, where new lockdowns came into force this weekend, 12,472 new Covid
cases were reported for Saturday - the country's highest daily tally for a
weekend day
Marking another
record, new confirmed cases in the Netherlands increased by 10,203 over the
latest 24-hour period. This is despite new measures - including the closure of
bars and restaurants - imposed this month
Total reported
cases in Russia have now surpassed 1.5 million - but the mayor of the worst-hit
city, Moscow, said that while "there is still growth... it is slower"
In Germany,
where case numbers have risen sharply in recent weeks, the building belonging
to the country's public health body - the Robert Koch Institute - has been
vandalised. At least one window was broken as several suspects reportedly tried
to start a fire. Meanwhile, Frankfurt has become the latest city to cancel its
traditional Christmas market
Hospitals in
the Swiss city of Geneva are calling on medically trained volunteers and
retired staff to help care for what it anticipates will be a record number of
Covid patients in the coming days As well as a night-time curfew, travel
between regions can be banned under the emergency measures.
^ Hopefully,
Europe’s Second Wave won’t be as bad as the First Wave and that this time the
European Union (especially Germany) doesn’t abandon other EU Member States (Italy,
Spain, etc.) like it did the first time. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.