Covid-19 Second Wave

Following new Coronavirus restrictions, protests broke out across Italy on Monday. Clashes involving petrol bombs happened in both Milan and Turin. In Naples, protestors called for the resignation of its governor. Italy has imposed a curfew in many Italian regions and has ordered the closure of eateries, gyms and cinemas after 6pm.

Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz has stated that he considered a second lockdown as a measure of last resort to contain the further spread of Covid-19 and prevent hospitals reaching capacity.

"We have a massively increasing, exponential growth. It is an extreme challenge. The situation is very, very serious, even for those who still refuse to believe it," so Kurz.

German chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that Germany is "on the verge of losing control of its fight against the virus", telling her party in an internal meeting that "the situation is threatening" and that the country has "very, very difficult months ahead."

Germany has seen a steady increase of Covid-19 cases of the past weeks, reporting over 14,000 cases on October 24, the country's highest daily case count.

The Spanish government decreed a new state of alarm and announced a night-time curfew for the entire territory of the European nation from 11 pm to 6 am, as authorities grapple with the second wave of Covid-19. The country returns to the state of alarm seven months after the Council of Ministers on March 14 decreed it to contain the first wave of the pandemic.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he would ask the Spanish parliament to keep the emergency mechanism in place for six months, until May 9.

Covid-19 cases have doubled in Europe over the past ten days, rising from 100,000 to 200,000. Multiple countries, including Austria, Germany, Italy and France, have reported daily records in the past week.

Spain is the first western European country to surpass 1 million Coronavirus cases. It has recorded 1,005,295 infections since the first case was confirmed on January 31st.

Austria has recorded new 2,435 Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours on Thursday, its highest daily record since the start of the pandemic. The country has seen a steady increase in cases since September,

The Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin has announced that nationwide level 5 restrictions will be imposed from Wednesday night on and last until the beginning of December. This means that all residents must limit their movements to a five-kilometer radius of their homes and can't visit the homes of others.

In addition, most retail shops must close while a few services that are deemed essential can stay open.

After a lower number on Monday, France again reported more than 20,000 new Covid-19 cases in a day: 20,468. The total number of cases is now at 930,745 and its expected to break the 1 million mark before Saturday.

In order to slow the accelerating spread of Covid-19, Wales will go into a national lockdown from Friday the 23rd of October to Monday the 9th of November.

First Minister Mark Drakeford has stated that the goal is to "slow down the virus and buy us more time". People will need to stay home during the lockdown, work from home if possible and all non-food related retail will be shut down as well as hotels and hairdressers.

According to the New York Times data, the United States have recorded over 70,450 new Covid-19 cases in one single day, the highest single-day increase since July 24. Among the states that set a single-day case record are Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, North Dakota, Indiana, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.

Alexander Schallenberg and Sophie Wilmes, foreign ministers of Austria and Belgium, have tested positive for coronavirus after attending a meeting in Luxembourg earlier this week. Both announced their test results, separately, on Saturday.

Wilmes announced her positive test in a post on Twitter: "My COVID test result is positive. Contamination probably occurred within my family circle given the precautions taken outside my home."

A spokeswoman for Austria’s Foreign Ministry stated: "It is suspected that Schallenberg might have been infected at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on Monday."

The health ministry of Italy announced Saturday the country had 10,925 new Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours. There were also 47 coronavirus-related deaths during the same period.

The Belgian federal government announced Friday that bars and restaurants would have to close for a month, and there will be a curfew from midnight to 5 am. The measures are a response to the surging second wave of Covid-19 and will be in effect from October 19.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said, during a news conference: "The coming weeks will be very difficult, but we must take those measures to avoid the worse."

Belgium has one of the highest per capita Covid-19 fatality rates in the world with 10,283 deaths.

A Berlin court suspended the 11 pm curfew on bars and restaurants that was in effect for a week. The court stated there was no evidence that establishments sticking to the existing rules on mask-wearing and social distancing contributed to an increase in the infection rates.

The court ruling was in response to a legal action brought by restaurant owners who contested the curfew, but not a ban on the sale of alcohol after 11 pm.

Austria has recorded 1,552 Covid-19 cases within a 24-hour period on Thursday – the highest daily number since the start of the pandemic in March.

The Italian health ministry announced the country had registered 7,332 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, a record since the outbreak started. The previous record was 6,557 cases back on March 21.

The number of people in intensive care units with the virus has also risen from around 40 in the second half of July to 539 on Wednesday.

On Tuesday the EU European ministers decided on a recommendation for a Europe-wide Corona traffic light. As the EU Council of Ministers announced, travel restrictions are to be coordinated.

For green, the new infections must be below a value of 25, the positive tests below four percent. No restrictions of the member states should apply here. For orange, new infections must be below 50 and the rate of positive tests below four percent. If the new infections are between 25 and 150, the rate of positive tests must be less than four percent for a region to still be classified orange. The traffic light turns red if the new infections are higher than 50 and the rate of positive tests is four percent or higher, or if the new infection rate is more than 150.

For orange and red, the EU states can prescribe quarantine and testing on entry.

France's ministry of health reported Saturday 26,896 new Covid-19 infections, the biggest daily number since the start of the outbreak. The ministry also reported 54 deaths in the same period.

The cumulative number of cases in the country is 718,873, with a death toll of 32,684.

For the first time since March 29, Italy registered more than 5,000 cases in a day with 5,372 Covid-19 infections. There were also 28 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Even with the high numbers, Italy is still recording significantly fewer daily cases than other large European countries, such as France, Spain and Britain.