Europe Rushing To Halt New Wave Of Coronavirus Infections

By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News

(Worthy News) – European governments rush to impose harsh measures to halt a massive increase in coronavirus infections across the continent. The partial lockdowns and other regulations impact millions of people from East to West.

French President Emmanuel Macron was the latest leader to announce that people must stay indoors from 21:00 to 06:00 in Paris and eight other cities. He said the curfew would come into effect from Saturday and last for at least four weeks. 

In Hungary, authorities already closed borders to most foreigners, including European Union citizens, despite being part of the EU’s borderless Schengen zone. The nearby Czech Republic shut schools and bars.

Among the hardest-hit nations is The Netherlands, where the government ordered the closure of bars and restaurants as of Wednesday as part of a “partial lockdown” that will last at least four weeks.

To make sure that revelers unable to go to bars wouldn’t party at home, the government also banned alcohol sales after 8 p.m. 

HOUSEHOLDS RESTRICTIONS ANNOUNCED

Additionally, authorities said households could only receive no more than three guests per day while public transport travel should be limited as much as possible.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte stressed that his nation needed to move a step closer to a full lockdown. 

Otherwise, he warned, hospitals would become so overburdened that people with other urgent needs would be unable to get treatment. “The hammer to kill the virus must be big enough,” Prime Minister Rutte said. 

He added “that the facts are not lying. We will have to change our attitudes.” Rutte acknowledged that the government’s communications weren’t effective enough to change attitudes in the liberal Netherlands. 

In recent weeks, few other European countries saw such an increase in cases like the Netherlands. Prime Minister Rutte said the numbers were “bizarrely high.”

MORE DEATHS RECORDED

Authorities claim coronavirus deaths reached 150 compared to 89 the week earlier. The Amsterdam and Rotterdam regions are the current hotbeds of the virus in the Netherlands.

In the Netherlands, the official death toll of coronavirus infections so far this year approaches 6,600 on a population of more than 17 million people. Most of the victims were older adults with underlying health conditions. 

But critics have warned that the government imposed measures could lead to more destruction and deaths.  Leading experts at the Dutch Erasmus University and other institutes have also cautioned that globally, coronavirus lockdowns could lead to as many as 100 million deaths.

There also is concern about the impact lockdowns will have on mostly impoverished nations within the World Health Organization. It’s COVID-19 envoy, Dr. David Nabarro, said his agency is “no longer advocating lockdowns as the primary means of controlling this virus.”

But Dutch Prime Minister Rutte and other government leaders fear partial lockdowns or other measures may not be enough to limit “dangerous” coronavirus outbreaks.

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