|
 Most European nations eased lockdowns over the summer to start
reviving economies already heading for unprecedented downturns and
job losses from the pandemic's first wave.
But the return of normal activity - from packed restaurants to new
university terms - fuelled a sharply-rising spike in cases all over
the continent.
Bars and pubs were among the first to shut or face earlier closing
in the new lockdowns, but now the surging infection rates are also
testing governments' resolve to keep schools open and non-COVID
medical care going.
The Czech Republic, which has Europe's worst rate per capita, has
shifted schools to distance learning and hospitals started cutting
non-urgent medical procedures to free up beds. Bars, restaurants and
clubs have shut.
"Sometimes we are at the edge of crying, that happens quite often
now," said Lenka Krejcova, a head nurse at Slany hospital northwest
of Prague, as builders sped through the hospital's corridors to turn
a general ward into a COVID-19 department.
Moscow authorities said on Wednesday they would introduce online
learning for many students starting on Monday, while Northern
Ireland announced a two-week schools' closure.
Major European economies of Germany, Britain and France have so far
resisted pressure to close schools, a move that during the spring
lockdowns created hardship across the workforce, with parents
struggling to juggle child care and work from home.
'IT'S A MESS'
In Germany, politicians are debating whether to extend the
Christmas-New Year break to reduce contagion among children
spreading to the wider community, though critics say there is no
evidence that schools have been infection hot spots.
The Netherlands returned to "partial lockdown" on Wednesday, closing
bars and restaurants, but kept schools open.
[to top of second column] |
European daily infections have been running at an average of almost 100,000 a
day, forcing governments to introduce a range of tightening restrictions, each
attempting to calibrate them in order to protect health without destroying
livelihoods.
"It's a mess, it's a mess, my son, what can I tell you? We really don't know how
we are going to end up," said an Italian pensioner in Rome.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to unveil further restrictions on
Wednesday, with media reporting that city curfews are under consideration.
France's five largest cities - Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse and Lille - are
already on maximum alert, with bars and gyms closed and restaurants under strict
controls.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces opposition calls to impose another
national lockdown in England, but has so far resisted. Hospital admissions,
however, are climbing and field hospitals in the spring are once more being
readied.
In Spain, authorities in its richest region of Catalonia are set to announce
either a closure of bars and restaurants for two weeks or a drastic reduction in
opening hours.
In Belgium, with Europe's second worst infection rate per capita, hospitals now
have to reserve a quarter of their beds for COVID-19 patients.
"We can't see the end of the tunnel today," Renaud Mazy, the managing director
of the University Clinics of Saint-Luc in Brussels, told Belgian radio La
Premiere.
(Additional reporting by Emma Thomasson in Berlin and Antonio Denti in Rome;
Writing by Mark Bendeich; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
