“Madrid is especially because the health condition of Madrid is the health of Spain,” said Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa at a press conference on Wednesday, describing the situation as “complicated” and “worrying.”
The restrictions will apply to municipalities with more than 500 cases per 100,000 people in the past 14 days, where the number of positive cases exceeds 10% of all diagnostic tests or where Covid-19 patients make up more than 35% of occupied ICU beds.
Madrid recorded 1,586 new infections on Wednesday, or 40% of the national increase. Its regional government opposed the measures, arguing that the outbreak was under control.
The sweeping confinement reflects the new draconian measures being introduced in many countries across the continent as the second wave sweeps across Europe.
Professor Jill Carson, Vice President of the Global Outbreak Warning and Response Network, told CNN, “We must take the recent upsurge of Covid-19 in Europe very seriously and continue to do everything we can as part of society to limit the spread.”
“The virus creates a collective need that deserves a collective response. We know since earlier this year how quickly the virus’s spread can get out of control,” she said.
New restrictions in northern England
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced on Thursday a ban on indoor mixing in Liverpool and many other cities in northern England after the rapid rise in the number of cases. The new measures also recommend against unnecessary travel, watching amateur sports, and home care visits, except in exceptional circumstances.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday that this was a “defining moment”, adding that if evidence required it, he would not hesitate to take “more expensive” measures.
There were 7,108 new cases in the UK on Wednesday after a record high on Tuesday. Hancock warned that the R (reproduction) number was still higher than 1, which means the virus “continues to spread,” but told Parliament that there were “early indications” that the increased measures were having a positive effect.
An interim report from the UK’s largest Covid-19 testing program released Thursday estimated that more than 1 in 200 people in England have the coronavirus, or 0.55% of the population, compared to 0.13% an active case in the previous test round. The age of over 65 witnessed a seven-fold increase, the largest increase in cases, while young people continued to have the highest infection rates, with an estimated 1 in 100 infected with the Coronavirus.
Professor Paul Elliott, Director, said: “While our latest findings show some early evidence that the growth of new cases may have slowed, indicating that efforts to control infection are working successfully, the spread of infection is the highest we have recorded so far.” “. REACT (Real-Time Assessment of Community Transition) program at Imperial College London.
Prevalence increased across the country, with the upper Northwest remaining at 0.86%, and cases increasing fivefold in London, from 0.10% to 0.49%. It was found that black and Asian people were twice as likely to be infected as white people.
Chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance warned Wednesday of “rapid growth” in cases in parts of the country, adding: “Things are definitely going in the wrong direction.” Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said there was “a significant increase in the number of people entering intensive care.”
Merkel: We must be sane
Coronavirus cases in Germany rose by 2,503 cases to 291722 Thursday, the second highest increase since April. On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on citizens to “stick to the rules” in the winter. “I am sure: life as we know it will return, but now we have to be rational.”
On Tuesday, Merkel announced a raft of new measures aimed at stemming the recent spike in infections in the country. She said gatherings in public places would be limited to no more than 50 people in areas with a high number of cases.
“We know that a more difficult time is coming, autumn and winter,” Merkel said at a press conference, explaining the restrictions, which also include fines of at least 50 euros for customers in bars and restaurants who provide wrong contact information to the authorities. Tracing.
Merkel also issued a warning that if action is not taken, Germany could see as many as 19,200 new cases per day in the winter months. “This underscores the urgent need to act,” Merkel said.
The Dutch government announced, on Tuesday, that it is taking tougher measures after the daily rate of reported infections doubled levels seen during the first wave in spring. This includes working from home where possible, bars and restaurants close at 10 pm, and gatherings are limited to four people.
In France, the head of the Regional Health Authority in Paris said, on Wednesday, that the data received from hospitals did not appear positive.
Aurelene Russo told Radio France Inter that 34% of intensive care beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients in the region. He added that the infection rate is very high for people between 20 and 30, at 450 cases per 100,000 people. Russo said the incidence rate for people over 65 was over 100 per 100,000 population.
As the numbers deteriorate, the government may decide to classify Paris, such as Marseille and the outer province of Guadeloupe, as a “high alert” area, which means that bars and restaurants will have to close.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said high levels of cases (at least 60 per 100,000) or a steady increase in notification rates for a 14-day Covid-19 case have been observed in 20 countries in the European Union and the United Kingdom, and the situation recall in many Countries “Regarding”.
Vasco Cotovio, Pierre Perrin, Frederic Plettgen, Nadine Schmidt, Mick Criver, and Sarah Dean of CNN contributed to the report.
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