France Enter Lockdown Friday, Germany Monday. What the new restrictions look like and which European states are still preparing to strengthen anti-COVID measures | News, foreign news Freedom

The second wave of the COVID pandemic in Europe has reached a point where it can no longer be controlled, with the number of cases exploding in several countries, including France, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, Slovenia and Luxembourg.

Doctors in these countries have announced that hospitals are overloaded with work and the capacity of intensive care units is approaching its limit. In Belgium, the situation is so dire that infected but asymptomatic medical staff have agreed to continue their work.

The European authorities are now trying to establish a blockade as flexible as possible, in the hope that they will control the epidemic. Ireland and Wales have already taken this step.

European officials hope that flexibility can give a breath of fresh air to the already hit economy and at the same time save citizens tired of restrictive measures.

In Italy or Poland, but also in the United Kingdom, several demonstrations have already taken place against the new wave of restrictions.

Germany: an easy block

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s meeting with Länder leaders established the establishment of a new national bloc for one month, starting Monday November 2, tabloid Bild revealed Wednesday evening.

Angela Merkel subsequently confirmed the decision and the form of the restrictions. It will be a “light” block, milder than in the spring, which has practically closed the economy.

Schools and kindergartens will remain open, but restaurants and bars will close. Public gatherings will be banned and travel will be discouraged.

Theaters, cinemas, swimming pools, gyms and saunas will also be closed. And hotel stay will be prohibited, with some exceptions.

All Germans who can work from home are advised to do so.

And in public it will be possible to meet a maximum of two families, for a total of 10 people.

“We are in a serious situation,” Merkel warned on Wednesday evening. “We must act now to avoid an acute state of emergency,” the chancellor said.

Authorities have confirmed more than 14,000 cases of the infection in the past 24 hours, and the figures show that only 25% of ICU beds in the country are still available.

France enters the bloc on Friday at midnight

Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday evening that “we are overwhelmed by a second wave, which will be more deadly than the first” and specified that, from Friday, France will join the bloc – nationally, not just zonal, as had been assumed.

“If we don’t put the brakes on, our hospitals will be overwhelmed very quickly. In this context, my responsibility is to protect all French people. Despite the controversy, I’ll take care of it tonight. We are one of the countries in Europe that are testing the most, but we must admit that we are overwhelmed by the epidemic “, added the French president.

Macron announced the measures that will take effect: “Kindergartens, schools and high schools will remain open, public services will continue to operate, nursing homes will remain open. But you will not be able to leave one region to another “.

“As in spring, you will be able to go to work, see a doctor, help a loved one, go shopping or get some fresh air around the house. Bars and restaurants will be closed (…) Employees and employers who will not be able to work they will continue to benefit from partial unemployment. Telework will be applied on a large scale, “Macron also announced.

Our internal borders within the European area will remain open and, with some exceptions, the external borders will remain closed. Of course, the French living abroad will remain free to return to the territory.

The President of France:

The new restrictions will be valid from Friday 30th November until 1st December.

Currently, in France, 58% of ATI beds are occupied by COVID patients.

In the past 24 hours, the number of confirmed deaths was 523, the highest level since April.

And the authorities confirm tens of thousands of new cases of contagion every day.

The new blockade will go into effect Wednesday in the Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, one of the countries most affected by the second pandemic wave, the new blockade will come into force on Wednesday evening.

Czechs will have to stay in their homes between 21.00 and 5.00.

Schools and non-essential businesses are already closed. Now, grocery stores will also have restrictions. Sunday they will be closed.

People are encouraged to shop twice a week, in order to reduce contact with other people as much as possible, notes Czech Radio.

In an interview with the public radio broadcaster, Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček revealed that the authorities were left with no viable alternatives to keep the epidemic under control and stressed that a total blockade is not excluded.

Cases of COVID infection and deaths erupted this fall, after the Czech Republic went through the first wave of the pandemic in the spring.

One third of 2,201 deaths from COVID in the Czech Republic have been recorded in the last week alone.

Dramatic situation in Belgium

In Belgium, the federal government will decide by this weekend whether to return to a new national bloc, at a time when the country is facing a second wave of very aggressive epidemics, Reuters writes.

Elio Di Rupo, the prime minister of the Walloon government, a French-speaking region of the country, stressed that he was a supporter of the harsh restrictions.

“We believe that stricter measures are needed in the coming days, measures that will lead to a blockade,” Di Rupo told the Walloon parliament, according to the daily Le Soir.

The last few days have brought very high budgets, with over 10,000 cases of contagion, many for a country of 11 million inhabitants.

The record was reached on October 20, when over 18,000 new cases were confirmed.

Doctors have warned that all beds in the ICU will be occupied within two weeks if the infection rate continues.

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