Covid-19 Situation in Europe Forces Governments to Tighten Restrictions

Instead, they are relying on a patchwork of regional or targeted coronavirus restrictions that have sometimes caused confusion and frustration by those affected.

The UN health agency appeared to support the new approach, with WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic saying lockdowns should be a “last resort” in responding to the second wave of coronavirus restrictions.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a European Union advisory body Tuesday that she is watching the rising infection figures “with great concern”.

Read also: Indonesian President Confident in Government’s Handling of Covid-19

“We must not squander now what we achieved through restrictions in recent months,” Merkel said in a video address.

“None of us found it easy to impose those restrictions,” she added. “Many people lost their lives, and so it is all the more important that we ensure now that a further lockdown won’t be necessary, that our health system isn’t overstrained again.”

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte ordered bars and restaurants to close at midnight and banned pickup sports games among friends and parties in enclosed spaces.

Private gatherings at homes with more than six people who don’t live together are also discouraged.

“Our objective is clear: We must prevent our country from plunging back into a generalized lockdown," Conte said.

Read also: Jakarta Extends Partial Lockdown as Hospitals Feel Weight of Covid-19 Caseload

Italy reported more than 5,900 people tested positive over the past day and 41 people died, bringing the country's official Covid-19 death toll to more than 36,200, the second-highest in Europe after Britain.

The outbreak has spread to the annual Giro d’Italia, which was thrown into chaos after several top riders withdrew from the cycling race following positive tests for the coronavirus.

Italy made masks mandatory outdoors last week, a requirement already in place in Spain, Turkey, India, and a few other Asian countries.

Elsewhere in Europe, such mandates are in effect in many places in Poland and hotspot cities like Paris and Brussels, and are being introduced in several German cities.

In France, which has seen a rapid increase in infections, Paris, Marseille and seven other large cities have been placed under maximum alert, resulting in the closing of bars, gyms and swimming pools.