Many European countries are stepping up measures to contain and control the outbreak
In recent days, the coVID-19 epidemic has continued to rebound in many European countries, with a record number of new confirmed cases in a single day. Italy, Spain and other countries have once again strengthened their epidemic prevention and control measures to avoid the slow recovery of all sectors of society due to the forced closure of cities.
France has confirmed 26,896 new cases in the past 24 hours, a new record of 718,873 new cases in a single day, public health authorities said Tuesday. The data showed that 4,999 coVID-19 patients were admitted to hospitals in France in the past seven days, of whom 928 were treated in intensive care units.
There were 5,724 new confirmed cases in Italy on Monday, close to the peak of 5,974 new cases in a single day on March 28, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 349,494, according to data released by the Ministry of Health on Thursday.
Since March 3, the number of new confirmed cases in the UK has continued to rise, reaching more than 10,000 in a single day and more than 20,000 on the fourth day. China confirmed 15,166 new cases Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 590,844. The government said the recent increase was due to adjustments made in recent days after 15,841 confirmed cases were not recorded on time in the outbreak data between 25 September and 2 October. But even excluding this "technical issue", the recent rebound in the UK has been more pronounced.
According to data released by the Robert Koch Institute of Disease Control and Prevention in Germany on Thursday, 4,721 new cases had been confirmed in Germany as of midnight, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 319,381. There were 15 new deaths, bringing the total number of deaths to 9,604.
In Portugal, 1,646 new cases have been confirmed in the past 24 hours, the highest number since the outbreak began, the country's health ministry said Thursday. Portugal, which had a record 1, 516 new cases confirmed in a single day on April 10, has been gradually declining. In recent days, as the epidemic has rebounded, the number of new confirmed cases has been rising daily.
Spain has confirmed more than 861,000 new cases and 32,929 deaths as of Wednesday, according to the ministry of Health.
Due to the strong rebound of the epidemic, several European governments have recently re-tightened epidemic prevention measures in an attempt to prevent the epidemic from worsening, and have been forced to "seal off" the city again.
In France, the four cities of Lille, Grenoble, Lyon and Saint Etienne have been put on the highest alert for coVID-19 since October 10. Earlier, the city of Marseille and the French overseas province of Guadeloupe, Paris and the suburbs of three provinces have been put on the highest alert. If the outbreak worsens there, areas on the highest alert will be declared a health emergency.
The Spanish government issued a bulletin on September 9, announcing that the capital Madrid and the Autonomous region of Madrid will enter into a 15-day state of emergency with immediate effect in order to curb the spread of novel Coronavirus. Under the decree, nine municipalities, including Madrid, will return to isolation, barring access to the blockaded towns except for legitimate reasons such as work, study and medical care. Activities in the cordoned off area are temporarily unaffected. Some 7, 000 police will be deployed to control access to the blocked towns, with fines and other penalties imposed on violators.
In the past week, the Italian government has begun tightening measures again, including mandatory use of masks and temperature monitoring in outdoor and public places, mandatory provision of disinfectant gels to customers in businesses open to the public, and the extension of the national state of emergency until January 31, 2021. In addition, Italy has expanded the number of European countries conducting preventive screening at its borders, while increasing the number of police officers on regular patrols to better monitor compliance with the latest prevention and control measures.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday agreed with curfews and bans on alcohol in some German cities, but stressed the need to avoid the "city closures" that took place earlier this year. The German health minister also said that as autumn and winter approached, Germany would expand its rules on "keeping a distance, observing sanitary measures and wearing masks." In addition, starting in mid-October, novel Coronavirus will be introduced in Germany to reduce the risk of novel Coronavirus spilling over into nursing homes and hospitals. (Writer: Li Jie; Participating journalists: Zhang Yirong, Chen Chen, Tang Ji, Zhang Jiawei, Feng Junwei)
