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Record Covid-19 infection levels, lockdowns mar festive cheer in Europe
Austria, Germany and Russia were among the nations in Europe which saw record surges in daily Covid-19 cases and deaths.
Rising coronavirus disease cases in Europe have led to widespread concerns among doctors and scientists as governments impose lockdown measures to curb the spread of the disease ahead of Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Austria, Germany and Russia were among the nations in Europe which saw record surges in daily Covid-19 cases and deaths. These countries also tightened restrictions and Austria became the first European nation to impose a nationwide lockdown to curb the recent spread of Covid-19.
'Dramatic situation'
German vice chancellor Angela Merkel urged citizens to get vaccinated as the German government introduced tighter restrictions to curb the nation’s highest Covid-19 infection levels since the onset of the pandemic. “The situation is extremely dramatic,” Merkel said.
German health minister Jens Spahn also said that Germany may have to transfer Covid-19 patients from one region to another or even to neighbouring nations for treatment. “We are getting to a point where we will have to transfer Covid patients not just within the same region, but to other regions within Germany. And quite possibly even to neighbouring countries,” Spahn was quoted as saying by news agency Deutsche Welle.
Germany recorded 52,970 daily new infections on Friday. Bavaria, the German state, canceled all of its popular Christmas markets due to the rise in Covid-19 cases.
Austria imposes lockdown
Austria imposed a national lockdown to curb cases and asked the entire population to get fully vaccinated by February. “We have not succeeded in convincing enough people to get vaccinated. It hurts that such measures still have to be taken,” Austrian chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said.
“There are too many among us who haven’t shown solidarity. Raising the vaccination rate is the only way to break this vicious circle,” Schallenberg was quoted as saying by news agency Bloomberg.
The nationwide lockdown will begin from Monday. The nation reported 15,609 new cases in the last 24 hours, the highest since the onset of the pandemic.
Russia continues to report record Covid-19 deaths
Russia continued to report record Covid-19 deaths on Friday as it recorded 1,254 fresh fatalities along with 37,156 new confirmed cases. It reported 1,251 deaths on Thursday and 1,247 deaths on Wednesday.
Russian authorities blamed the recent surge in infection levels on lax attitudes among people and low vaccination rates. Out of Russia’s 146 million people only 40% have been fully vaccinated despite the nation launching Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine ahead of the entire world.
The recent spike in cases in Europe have also led to fear among investors who feel that measures to curb the cases could delay the economic recovery. Oil prices also fell on Friday to $78 a barrel as European markets struggled due to the recent surge in cases.
