Alarmed Europe prepares for more COVID pain amid rising discontent
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[October 27, 2020]
By Crispian Balmer
ROME (Reuters) - European governments
prepared on Tuesday to introduce new restrictions to try to curb a
growing surge of coronavirus infections across the continent and provide
economic balm to help businesses survive the pandemic.
Eight months into the crisis, world leaders face an increasingly
difficult task holding the disease at bay while also trying to keep
their economies afloat as they wait for a vaccination that should
mitigate the contagion.
The United States, Russia, France and other countries have registered
record numbers of infections in recent days as autumn turns to winter in
the Northern Hemisphere and people congregate indoors where the risk of
infection grows.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets across Italy on Monday to
vent their anger at the latest round of restrictions, including early
closing for bars and restaurants, with demonstrations in some cities
turning violent.
In the financial capital Milan, youths hurled Molotov cocktails at
police, who responded with volleys of tear gas. In nearby Turin, luxury
shops had their windows smashed and some were ransacked, leading to the
arrest of 10 rioters.
Looking to calm frayed nerves, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was
expected to approve later in the day measures to help companies hit by
the new curbs introduced at the weekend after daily infections increased
eight-fold in less than a month.
In neighbouring France, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin warned the
country to prepare for "difficult decisions" after some of the strictest
restrictions currently in place anywhere in Europe have failed to halt
the spread of the disease.
A top World Health Organization official said on Monday that Europe
needed a "serious acceleration" in the fight against the coronavirus,
saying a lack of contact-tracing capacity could drive the disease into
the darkness.
EUROPEAN STOCKS FALL
There have been at least 8.54 million reported infections and 251,000
deaths caused by coronavirus in Europe so far, according to latest
Reuters data. The continent registered a record 230,892 new cases on
Oct. 26, up from 67,739 on Oct.1.
Authorities in Russia, which with 1.55 million infections has the
world's fourth largest COVID-19 case load, ordered people across the
country on Tuesday to wear facemasks in some public places and asked
regional authorities to consider shutting bars and restaurants overnight
to counter the virus.
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People walk past shuttered restaurants and bars during the resurging
coronavirus outbreak in Amsterdam, Netherlands, October 14 2020.
REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
Even Germany, widely praised for its initial response to the
pandemic, signalled concern on Tuesday over rising infections, with
Economy Minister Peter Altmaier saying the country was likely to
reach 20,000 cases a day by the end of this week.
Altmaier said the Europe-wide epidemic would make it harder for
economic growth to rebound as quickly as previously hoped.
Underscoring the financial concerns, European equities fell in early
trading as risk-aversion swept markets.
Adding to the gloomy sentiment, a new study by Imperial College
London found that antibodies against the new coronavirus declined
rapidly in the British population during summer, suggesting
protection after infection may not be long-lasting.
With state finances creaking under the weight of the crisis, Spain's
government said on Tuesday it planned to raise taxes on large
companies and wealthy people to fund increased spending on social
care and infrastructure.
While Europe is struggling to contain the coronavirus, Asian
countries appear to be doing a better job.
Hong Kong announced it would reopen public beaches and increase the
number of people allowed to sit together in bars and restaurants
starting Friday as the city continues to unwind strict COVID-19
rules put in place in July.
"The epidemic situation has continued to subside over the past two
weeks," Sophia Chan, the Chinese special administrative region's
health secretary, told reporters.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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