THEEurope back into the eye of the Covid storm. The increase in infections, deaths, places occupied in intensive care leaves no doubt: we are in the middle of the fourth wave. And more and more countries are starting to impose new restrictions to stem the spread of the virus, including theobligation of the green pass, without discarding the hypothesis of general lockdowns where needed. Eastern Europe pays the highest price (Russia, Bulgaria and Poland), where the vaccination campaign is struggling to mesh. Germany is also sounding the alarm. Italy, for the moment, remains a "happy" island in the midst of a storm even if the incidence of new cases should not be underestimated. But the best in Europe remains Spain indicated, by the European Center for the prevention and treatment of diseases, with very low concern. Here is the Covid-19 situation country by country.
AUSTRIA
Even if intensive care has not yet reached the critical threshold, the country is ahead of the curve with more restrictions for no vax. From Monday 8 November, only vaccinated or people recovered from Covid will be able to access restaurants, hotels, cultural and sporting events, with 25 or more people. "Nobody wants to divide society, but it is our responsibility to protect people," said Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg. "The situation is exceptional, the occupation of intensive care units is increasing much faster than expected".
While, for the workplace, the third option linked to a swab with a negative result is still envisaged. The Ffp2 mask, on the other hand, will be mandatory in all shops, museums and libraries. The green pass will be valid for 9 months: upon expiry, the third dose of vaccine will be needed to keep the document valid. Instead, the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine guarantees the green pass only until January 3, 2022.
BELGIUM
Even Belgium tightens on no vax. The Ghent hospital will no longer give priority to the unvaccinated in intensive care. “There are too many patients, even serious ones, with other pathologies, who see their treatments increasingly postponed”, explained the head physician Frank Vermassen. The Minister of Health has encouraged the population to prepare for working from home.
GERMANY
Germany goes towards third dose: the “unvaccinated pandemic has begun”. Health Minister Jens Spahn sounded the alarm. Even if 66% of the population is vaccinated, the age group between 18 and 59 is of concern. To stem the spread of the virus, the authorities are thinking of introducing the obligation of the green pass in the workplace following the Italian case.
So Angela Merkel's homeland turns around. “If the pandemic situation in hospitals worsens then further restrictions for unvaccinated people are possible, the chancellor said. This could include the implementation of a system known as 2G, the impossibility for the unvaccinated to enter public places, while under 3G it is only allowed with a negative swab. The Thuringian government has closed intensive care to the unvaccinated. At the same time we need to speed up the vaccination campaign and push for the third dose, "after six months it must become the rule and not the exception," said Spahn.
DENMARK
In Copenhagen, health authorities are asking for the green pass to be reinstated while the situation is getting more complicated in hospitals, where the increase in hospitalizations will worsen especially between December and January, the coldest months. According to the Danish health authorities, selective criteria must be reintroduced for accessing closed places. After lifting all the restrictions last September 10, relying on the vaccination campaign, Denmark is also backtracking.
RUSSIA
Full hospitals and a lame vaccination campaign: Russia continues to travel at the rate of over 40 infections and a thousand deaths a day. Absolute record since the beginning of the pandemic crisis. The main problem is the vaccination flop, only 30% of the population has received two doses. According to polls, almost half of the population does not want to do this. The ban on leaving the house for the elderly and the obligation for companies to have 30% of staff work from home remain in force.
POLAND and BULGARIA
Among the countries classified by the ECDC as "high concern", there are Poland and Bulgaria. The Warsaw government is considering various measures to reduce the intensity of the transmission of Covid, "but we will not consider the lockdown", specified the Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki. The red code has also been triggered in Bulgaria: cases are increasing and hospitals are full, so much so that they have suspended surgery and non-urgent hospitalizations. However, the government excludes the possibility of introducing restrictive measures such as the green pass, considering it "detrimental to freedom". But this line is bringing the country to the brink of an unprecedented health crisis and with a percentage of vaccinated people below 30%, things are not looking good.
FRANCE
France exceeds 10 new cases a day. Hospitals are also on alert. The obligation to wear a mask returns in various schools and new protocols for the ski season: a mandatory mask in the queues for the ski lifts and in the cable cars and green passes only if the incidence of infections exceeds 200 cases per 100 inhabitants on a national scale.
Due to the epidemiological situation, the Paris Parliament has approved theextension of the use of the green pass until 31 July 2022, with 118 votes in favour, 89 against and one abstention. The provision had been contested by the Senate, which instead wanted green certification until February 28. According to the government, the certificate and the vaccination campaign should be sufficient to avoid curfews and lockdowns.
GREAT BRITAIN
Deaths and hospitalizations are up compared to last week, by 12,3% and 3,5% respectively, underlines the Guardian. Meanwhile, the country is heading towards the third dose of vaccine after 5 instead of 6 months. at this rate.”, tweeted Walter Ricciardi, adviser to the Minister of Health Roberto Speranza.
GREECE
New measures for the unvaccinated also in Greece. The obligation to show a negative rapid or pcr test has already started to enter banks, public offices, entertainment venues, shops and hairdressers, excluding basic necessities (food, pharmacies) and places of worship. All unvaccinated workers will have to take two swabs a week.
ITALY
The bogeyman of the yellow zone faces the regions again. The whole country is still in the white area, but the index Rt goes back above 1 and the occupation of posts in intensive care and in the medical area is also cause for concern. Eyes focused above all on Province of Bolzano and Friuli Venezia Giulia which discounts the gatherings of the Trieste protests of the last few days against the obligation of a Green Pass at work by above all the no vax.
Although infections continue to grow, deaths remain fairly stable thanks to high vaccination coverage and, although criticized, the obligation to show the green pass even at work.
