Europe is closing down again for fear of the second wave of Covid. After announced measures by the Italian Government, and the hypothesis of a new lockdown close to Christmas, when according to experts the contagion curve will have reached its peak and family celebrations would involve great risks, other countries they are organizing. To open the dance, this time in advance, was the Boris Johnson's UK which has set up 3 alarm levels (the highest one, which hit cities like Liverpool, is in fact a lockdown and will last a month), while last night it was the turn of French President Emmanuel Macron, who ordered a curfew from 21pm to 6am in risk areas. The measure takes effect on Saturday and will affect 20 million French people, about a third of the population. The area most at risk is Paris but the other metropolitan cities are also involved, especially in the South-West.
The provision will remain in force for 4 weeks and has already sparked controversy because in fact it is an evening closure for bars and restaurants. In those areas cinemas and theaters will also be closed and the measure can be extended if the infections do not decrease (France is now traveling at over 20.000 new cases a day). In Spain there is always a lot of tension around Madrid: the state of emergency imposed by the Sanchez government imposes travel limits for about 4 million people in the metropolitan area, while in Catalonia the Region has ordered the closure of bars and restaurants for 15 days, but allowing the take-away sales service. Total lockdown of 4 weeks in northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom but which unlike Liverpool and the other maximum alert zones, it will also close the schools.
New measures also in Germany. With the ever-increasing contagion curve, Chancellor Merkel is thinking of stricter restrictions on the use of masks, curfew times in cities, limitations on meetings and parties even in the private sphere. However, both in the capital Berlin and in Frankfurt, the measure that imposes the closure of bars and restaurants at 23 pm has already been in force for days: valid until October 31, but an extension is not excluded. In the Netherlands, the government has announced a "partial lockdown": a series of drastic measures, including the closure of bars and restaurants for at least four weeks. The sale of alcohol after 20 pm is prohibited, with the aim of reducing social contacts and discouraging nightlife. The use of the mask will also be mandatory indoors for all people over the age of thirteen.
