Covid Europe, fourth wave between lockdowns and unvaccinated rules

The lockdown is back. The fourth covid wave in Europe does not stop, on the contrary today it is gaining in force in particular in the northern and eastern regions where the percentages of vaccinated are lower than in Mediterranean countries such as Italy and Spain. Read also And if some countries, such as Greece and Slovakia, adopt restrictions and lockdowns for the unvaccinated, Austria has announced that it will be forced to close again for all. And the lockdown measure is not even excluded by German Germany, which has also introduced specific restrictions for the unvaccinated. Here are the measures taken by the countries: GERMANY Faced with the “dramatic situation” of the fourth wave of Covid, which today marks 53,000 new infections, after yesterday’s record of 65,000, and over 200 deaths, the government of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel has adopted with the Lander measures that limit the access of non-vaccinated people to public places. In regions where there are more than three Covid patients in hospital for every 100 thousand inhabitants, the 2G comes into force, i.e. the limitation of access to restaurants, theaters and cinemas only for vaccinated and cured. While the measure that provides for 3G – from the initials of the German words for vaccinated, cured or tested – for access to workplaces and public transport has been approved by the German Parliament. But this could not be enough according to the head of the Robert Koch Institute, the German health institute, Lothar Wieller, who invites the population to stay at home: “This is a national emergency, all of Germany is one big outbreak, we must pull the emergency brake “. And even the Minister of Health, Jens Spahn, today said that the generalized lockdown “cannot be excluded”. AUSTRIA After the lockdown only for the unvaccinated, Austria has announced that from next Monday, and for a minimum of 10 days and a maximum of 20, a new lockdown will be triggered for all. “It was not easy to make this decision, nobody likes to take measures that limit freedom”, Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said today at a press conference, adding that this decision is necessary because “too many of us have behaved without solidarity” . Faced with the violence of the fourth wave of Covid, which yesterday recorded a record of over 15 thousand daily infections, with an incidence rate of one thousand cases per 100 thousand inhabitants, the government has also decided to make the vaccine mandatory from next February. In Austria 65% of the population is fully vaccinated, a “shamefully low” rate said in recent days Schallenberg who today also decided that from 13 December the lockdown will continue for the unvaccinated. GREECE “Get vaccinated, vaccinated and vaccinated”. Thus the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the new restrictions that will take effect from Monday for those who are not vaccinated: unvaccinated adults will no longer be able to enter indoor public places, such as cinemas, theaters, museums and gyms. Until now, this category was only excluded from indoor restaurants. In addition, the green pass for those over 60 years old will be valid only for seven months, after which it will be necessary to have done the third dose to have it renewed. Anyone who is not vaccinated in Greece will have to show a negative swab to go to mass. Finally, private doctors will be ordered to support public health. Mitsotakis intervened as the country faces a new wave of infections. In the last 24 hours there have been 7,317 new cases and 63 deaths. There are 556 intubated people in hospitals. “We cry preventable deaths because we have a lower percentage of vaccinated than other European countries,” said the Greek premier, referring to the fact that some regions, such as those in the north, have vaccination rates below 50%. SLOVAKIA Slovakia will also impose strict restrictions on people who have not yet vaccinated against Covid. Prime Minister Eduard Heger announced this: “It is a lockdown for the unvaccinated”, clarified Heger, referring to the fact that Slovakia is one of the European countries with the lowest vaccination rate, estimated at 45%. new rules, only people who have been vaccinated or who have had Covid in the last six months will be able to enter restaurants, shopping malls, shops that sell non-essential goods, play sports or attend public events. The measures, which will enter into force on Monday and are scheduled for three weeks, are reminiscent of those adopted in neighboring Austria. Slovakia has reported record data in recent days regarding infections and health authorities have raised the alarm on the few intensive care beds still available for coronavirus patients. CZECH REPUBLIC Also the Czech Republic, which has reached 22 thousand cases at the day with an incidence rate of 813 infections per 100 thousand inhabitants, from next Monday it will implement restrictions only for the unvaccinated who will no longer be able to access bars, restaurants and other public places with the test. Ireland, a country with a high vaccination rate, which is close to 90% of adults: among these the curfew at midnight for the locals, the request for a Green Pass 2 G, vaccinated or cured, for cinemas and theaters, the request to work from home for all non-essential workers. In announcing these measures, Prime Minister Michael Martin said that, without the massive vaccination, the country would be in “total lockdown”. BELGIUM Belgium returns to the use of masks in public places and from next Monday all non-essential workers will have to work for at least four days a week from home, with a reduction to three from 13 December. The government has adopted these new measures, which include the request for the Green Pass also for the Christmas markets, in the face of the continuous rise in cases, which have reached 10 thousand cases per day, and a hospitalization rate that has reached the levels of last May. After last Tuesday’s record number of 832 Covid deaths, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced measures to try to increase the ultra-low vaccination rate, estimated at between 20 and 28 percent. Among these is the promise of a bonus of a thousand hryvnia, equal to 33 euros, for those who do the vaccine doses. The average wage in Ukraine is 6 thousand hryvnia. The announcement of the bonus comes after hundreds of no vaxes protested at the beginning of November against measures launched by the government to try to stop the virus, including banning unvaccinated people from going to public places and traveling on public transport. . To go to work they must submit a negative test. LATVIA After imposing a generalized lockdown last month, with night curfews, closed negotiations and banned cultural and sporting events last month, the government on Monday 15 November suspended measures for vaccinated and recovered, maintaining restrictions for the unvaccinated who can now leave the house only for essential needs. A mini lockdown has been in effect in the Netherlands since November 13, with bars and other venues closing at 8 am. start of the pandemic, despite 84% of the Dutch population being vaccinated. The greatest number of cases is recorded among children between 4 and 12 years old who are not vaccinated. SLOVENIA Among the countries bordering Italy, the situation in Slovenia is alarming, where the contagion curve remains high despite the restrictive measures adopted by the Slovenian government on 5 November, among which there is the obligation of the Green Pass, limitation of the opening hours of bars and restaurants and the ban on gathering. According to the data provided by the National Institute for Public Health (Nijz) in recent days, on average almost half of the tampons made are positive, with a rate of over 44% and an alarming incidence level of over 2 thousand positives per 100 thousand. inhabitants. The number of fully vaccinated people in Slovenia is just over 54 percent. SERBIA The vaccination rate in Serbia remains at 43%, a country that initially stood out for being one of the first to make the vaccine available as early as January. Despite the clear recovery of infections, with an average of 5 thousand cases a day since last September, the government has adopted only light measures, such as the need to present the Green Pass in public places only after 10 in the evening, with Prime Minister Ana Brnabic who said in recent weeks that “he does not believe going back to the measures before vaccines” would question the use of vaccination itself. The situation is so dramatic in some hospitals that they have been forced to suspend all interventions not related to Covid, that some doctors have threatened to sue the premier for her refusal to take a tougher line. doses, a significant step forward in a country of 4.2 million where vaccinations had practically stopped. Meanwhile, the government has announced plans to introduce the Green Pass in workplaces, including schools, provoking mobilizations and protests by no vax who have organized vigils in various Croatian cities. SWITZERLAND With daily infections that have reached 6 thousand cases per day, and an incidence rate of 527 per 100 thousand inhabitants, Switzerland is preparing for a very hard winter, in which up to 30 thousand hospitalizations for Covid are expected. Here, too, the rise in the contagion curve corresponds to a vaccination rate just below 65%, with a No Vax movement demonstrating against the new government campaign for vaccinations, with the anti-revolt police who had to defend the vaccination sites in Zurich SWEDEN After lifting all anti-Covid measures in September, the Swedish government now wants to impose a green pass requirement from December 1 to access indoor events with more than 100 people, a measure recommended by local health authorities to avoid a spike in infections in the coming weeks.Sweden, unlike several European countries, is not facing an emergency at this stage, but mathematical models suggest a peak in cases in mid-December. About 85% of Swedes over the age of 16 received one dose of the vaccine and 82% received two or more doses. The Scandinavian country currently has the lowest number of positive patients admitted to hospital and intensive care in the European Union in relation to the population.BULGARIA With the highest number of deaths from Covid in the world, Bulgaria asked the Union European Union to activate the civil protection mechanism in order to receive aid to deal with the terrible wave of Covid that is hitting the country of the Union with the worst vaccination rate, just over 22%. The Bulgarian Ministry of Health, stressing that it is necessary to prepare “in the event of a sudden worsening” of the pandemic, has asked to receive oxygen, respirators and beds from other EU countries. In the country that has not had a stable government since last April, Sunday he voted for the third time in a year in elections won by President Rumen Radev and a new anti-corruption party of the former Economy Minister. Instability is among other things considered one of the factors that have contributed to the high prevalence of covid in this country which is the least vaccinated in the EU.