Europe tightens restrictions as virus hospitalizations riseCoronavirus have hit new daily highs this week in Russia, and Germany and the U.K. have announced plans to expand virus testing as European countries battle rapidly increasing infection and hospitalizations
November 4, 2020, 1:50 AM
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NOTIFIED: Nov. 4, 2020
ATHENS, Greece -- Coronavirus cases hit new daily highs this week in Russia, and Germany and the U.K. announced plans Tuesday to expand virus testing as European countries battled rapidly increasing COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.
Nations reintroduced restrictions to get ahead of a virus that has caused more than 1.2 million deaths around the globe, over 270,000 of them in Europe, according to Johns Hopkins University, and is straining health care systems.
New measures took effect Tuesday in Austria, Greece and Sweden, following a partial shutdown imposed in Germany Monday and tighter rules in Italy, France, Kosovo and Croatia. England faces a near-total lockdown from Thursday, although schools and universities will stay open.
Infections spiked in Russia, where authorities reported 18.648 new cases Tuesday. It was the fifth straight day of more than 18,000 confirmed cases, compared to the country's daily record of over 11,000 in the spring.
Russia has the world’s fourth-highest reported coronavirus caseload with over 1.6 million people confirmed infected, including more than 28,000 who died in the pandemic.
The country lifted most virus-related restrictions this summer, and Russian officials say the health care system can cope. However, alarming reports have surfaced of overwhelmed hospitals, drug shortages and inundated medical workers.
Sweden, where the government skipped the lockdowns other nations adopted for a much-debated approach that kept much of society open, set new nationwide limits on restaurants and cafes, ordering them them to serve only seated customers and with a maximum of eight per table. The Scandinavian country announced local restrictions in three more counties that include Sweden’s largest cities.
“We are going in the wrong direction. The situation is very serious,” Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said. “Now, every citizen needs to take responsibility. We know how dangerous this is.”
The country of 10 million people has 134,532 reported cases and nearly 6,000 deaths.
Amid the gloom, a partial lockdown in the Netherlands appeared to be paying off; Dutch officials reported the number of new confirmed cases fell 5% to 64,087 in the past seven days, the first decline in weeks.
The fall came three weeks after the government put the nation of 17 million on partial lockdown, including closing bars and restaurants, halting amateur sports for adults and urging people to work from home.
Dutch authorities remain concerned the number of COVID-19 patients is putting an unbearable strain on hospitals, and Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced further restrictions Tuesday night.
“It’s not going too bad but certainly not good enough. The infection numbers have to go down quicker,” Rutte said as he explained that the government was closing cinemas, theaters, swimming pools and museums for two weeks.
He warned that some regions could be placed under curfews if infection rates do not drop, and warned residents of the Netherlands not to travel abroad until mid-January.
In Italy, Premier Giuseppe Conte late Tuesday signed a decree putting more pandemic limits on the country, RAI state radio said. The government was poised to announce details Wednesday. But earlier in the week, Conte said the stiffer measures would include an overnight, nationwide curfew.
Italy's new decree would also ban people from entering or leaving the nation's hardest-hit regions and shut down all non-essential shops in those places. Just which regions will be determined Wednesday after health experts study the latest numbers on infections and hospital-bed capacity.
In Britain, the government plans to offer regular COVID-19 testing to anyone living or working in Liverpool, a city of 500,000.
“These more advanced tests will help identify infectious individuals who are not displaying symptoms...so they can self-isolate and prevent the virus from spreading,” the Department of Health said.
