Europe continues to experience a rebound in coronavirus infections as governments struggle to impose new restrictions and speed up vaccinations. France, Italy, Belgium and Germany, among other nations, have all seen sharp increases in new cases since early March and are now back to levels last seen at the end of last year or in early January.
The German government has stopped pushing for nationwide measures to contain the pandemic and is now urging local authorities to adopt appropriate steps at their level. This week, the government scrapped a planned five-day Easter lockdown that had caused a torrent of criticism from businesses, local authorities and the media.
However, many local authorities are reluctant to tighten already strict restrictions as impatience mounts among voters. Authorities in the capital said this week that Berlin would stick to the limited reopening measures that started three weeks ago despite a sudden rise in infections above the level that should trigger a renewed shutdown. Some states, such as the Saar, which borders France, have announced a gradual reopening after the Easter holiday.
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn urged Germans not to travel over Easter and warned that current trends suggested that the country’s intensive-care units could become overwhelmed with new patients in the course of April. With Germany having vaccinated just 10% of its population, the current rebound in infections has been matched by a steep rise in hospitalizations. There are currently no official prohibitions on travel within Germany, though air passengers flying back into the country must now show a negative PCR test.
Lothar Wieler, president of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute for infectious disease, said the current wave of infections would be worse than all previous ones, adding “we have very hard weeks ahead of us…Many people will die.”
Germany recorded 21,573 new cases on Thursday, according to the RKI—4,091 more than a week earlier. The incidence of the virus among children has risen particularly fast, according to the institute.
Italy is expected to partially relax restrictions in parts of the country where infections are slowing, including in Lazio, the region around Rome. From next Tuesday, schools, shops and hairdressers are likely to reopen in Rome. Italy’s government is set to make a decision on Friday. The northern region of Lombardy around Milan, however, is set to remain under lockdown. Lombardy, Italy’s economic powerhouse and home to around 10 million of Italy’s 60 million people, has been the hardest-hit part of the country since the pandemic began.
Italy recorded nearly 24,000 Covid-19 infections on Thursday and 460 deaths. Average daily infections have doubled since late February, leading Italy to tighten restrictions earlier this month in most of the country. The government of new Prime Minister Mario Draghi is putting pressure on Italy’s regional authorities to improve their slow-moving vaccination campaign and has offered to take over direct control if regions can’t speed up their efforts.
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