European countries are trying to control a new wave of Covid-19 with enhanced restrictions and doses – International

a Europe You are experiencing an increase in infections before Corona Virus to levels not seen in months, alarming health officials and raising fears that the continent may be engulfed by a new wave of the pandemic this winter in the northern hemisphere. In an effort to contain the progress of Covid-19, European countries where the wave is taking the strongest restrictive measures and forcing the population to take new doses of the vaccine.

a Germany On Friday, it reported 37,120 new infections, the largest daily increase since the beginning of the pandemic. The infection rate is now 169 cases per 100,000 people over seven days – a level not seen since the peak of the third wave of coronavirus in the spring, when almost no one was vaccinated. The number of Covid patients being treated in German intensive care units is the highest since May.

The fear is that the surge in cases will put the continent’s health systems under stress again months later when the virus appeared, if not completely defeated, over.

The increase in cases of COVID-19 is particularly evident in Central and Eastern Europe, where vaccination levels are lower than in Western Europe. The SlovakiaWith only 46% of the population fully vaccinated, 6,713 new cases were recorded on Thursday – the largest number of daily infections since the start of the pandemic.

employment PolandWith 53% of people fully vaccinated, the number of new cases increased by nearly 50% on Friday, having quadrupled in the previous three weeks. The number of hospital admissions has also risen sharply, trebling in the past three weeks in Poland and more than doubling in Slovakia.

a Romania, where only a third of the population has been vaccinated, has had the highest number of deaths per capita in the world in the past seven days. The Bulgaria, the least-vaccinated country in the European Union, set a new daily death record for covid-19 this week.

Explaining the sharp rise, experts said the onset of cold weather has led to people spending more and more time indoors, where the virus can spread more easily. They also noted the reluctance of many to get the vaccine and low immunity among those who were vaccinated.

Studies show that the risk of infection nearly doubles five months after the second injection. The new delta variant of the coronavirus, which appears to be 10% more transmissible, may also play a role, along with fatigue from wearing masks in public. Studies have shown that wearing a mask reduces transmission of the virus.

Antoine Flaholt, of the University of Geneva’s Institute of Global Health, noted the “disastrous” rise in new cases in Central and Eastern Europe in recent weeks and “alarming” death rates. “From the East, this pandemic wave is now spreading to Western Europe,” he said.

It also highlighted that despite the increase in new infections in countries such as DutchAnd Austria NS Belgium, all had a relatively low mortality rate and rates of hospitalization at present.

Fergus Sweeney, head of clinical studies at the European Medicines Agency, said it was “extremely concerning” that the main indicators on the continent – cases, hospitalizations and deaths – were rising as winter approaches.

He urged all Europeans to vaccinate or complete the vaccination schedule. “Not all of us are protected until everyone is protected in this regard,” he told the British newspaper. financial times.

trying to control

Germany was one of the first countries to try to control this new wave. The country’s regional health ministers have decided that everyone in Germany should get a booster dose of covid-19 vaccine To control the fourth wave of the pandemic. Jens SpanThe Federal Minister of Health also called for booster doses to be given to all.

Health ministers from Germany’s 16 states met for two days of talks on how to deal with the rising trend. “Countries agree that everyone who received a second injection six months or more ago should receive an appropriate booster dose,” Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holleczyk told a news conference.

Germany is in a political stalemate after the general elections in September. The new coalition parties, which aim to form a government in early December, have scrapped the mandatory doses and said there will be no new blockades – at least not for those vaccinated. But with only 67% of the population fully vaccinated and intensive care beds quickly filled, demands are growing for action to address the rising curve.

We are the Baltic countries Latvia He re-applied the blocking measures for at least a month, while Lithuania it’s at Estonia It has had the highest number of cases per capita in the world in recent weeks.

employment GreeceIntensive care units capacity is 84% ​​compared to 67% a month ago. The country has increased restrictions in response to the surge in new cases. All unvaccinated people from Saturday will be required to test negative to enter enclosed public places, including banks and most shops and government buildings.

The Netherlands said this week it would reimpose restrictions to curb the fastest rate of new infections since July, after new measures were introduced in neighboring Belgium.

authorities Croatia It will limit meetings and expand the use of vaccine passports after the number of infected people hit new highs again on Friday. Croatia has reported nearly 7,000 new infections, according to the Associated Press.

After a meeting of the country’s crisis team, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said that as of Saturday, the number of meetings is expected to be no more than 50 people, and is expected to end by midnight. Vaccine passports will be provided to employees of all state institutions, including schools, from mid-November.

The permits, which require proof of vaccination, a certificate that the recipient has recovered from COVID-19, or a negative test, have been presented to health and social care systems staff. Depending on the situation, Bozinovich said, use could be extended even further.

a Ukraine It is experiencing the worst coronavirus wave to date and one of the deadliest in Europe. Daily numbers among the population of about 40 million regularly exceed 20,000 infections and 700 deaths – far exceeding the previous major outbreak this spring, where the numbers were around 15,000 cases and 500 deaths. The World Health Organization Ukraine ranked third in terms of daily deaths after United State and yes Russia, and among the top ten in daily cases.

With one of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe, the government plans to make vaccination mandatory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has promised to speed up the pace of vaccinations after months of a slow approach focused on implementing the vaccination campaign and providing basic information on the vaccine group in Ukraine, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer-Pionatek and Sinovac. “I ask everyone to turn off their social networks and turn on their brains,” Zelensky said in recent comments to reporters. “We need to be vaccinated. It is the only solution.”

a England It is also facing an increase in the number of cases. According to official data, about 1.1 million people were infected with the virus in the country last week, that is, one in 50 of the country’s population. The number is triple from previous months and the highest level in the year.

Britain’s statistics agency said the English region with the highest proportion of people testing positive for the virus was in the southwest, where about 2.9 people contracted the virus. The lowest rates were in London, where about 1.5% were infected. Despite the increase, the British government still does not expect new restrictions in the near future./ The New York Times, W Post, ABE Reuters