Curfews in Germany, pubs closed in Scotland, the region of Madrid cordoned off in Spain ... The summer lull has passed, restrictions and other twists and turns have been increasing in Europe in recent days to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Whether in France or in almost all of our neighbors, these measures taken are the logical consequence of a common observation: the number of new cases counted every day has been steadily increasing for weeks.
A deterioration in the generalized situation should not mask clear differences from one country to another, which partly explains why the restrictive arsenal deployed varies.
If we take the contamination figures alone, the situation is most worrying in Spain, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
In these three countries, the average number of new daily confirmed cases of Covid-19 per million inhabitants over the last seven days is well over 200. Among the Dutch, it has even exceeded 300!
Another edifying indicator: the growth in the number of these daily contaminations compared to last month.
Since September 15, it has almost doubled in France (+ 92%).
It jumped by around 150% in Germany and Italy.
This growth is most dramatic in the UK with these daily cases increasing by 360% in just four weeks.
It is therefore not surprising to see the British authorities toughen the measures, especially as the country is the one that has paid the heaviest price for the coronavirus with more than 42,000 dead.
In Scotland, pubs and cafes in five regions lowered the curtain on Friday and for at least two weeks.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to lift the veil on a new three-tier alert system outside Parliament on Monday.
In the most affected cities, for example in Liverpool, we are now even counting on local containment in the days to come.
According to Mayor Joe Anderson, such a measure could be enacted as early as Tuesday.
Germany takes the lead
In Spain, the number of daily contaminations has hardly changed across the country for about a month.
All eyes are on the other hand on the Madrid region, where the development is considered "worrying" by the head of government Pedro Sanchez.
Since Friday, the inhabitants of the capital and eight neighboring localities can not leave their municipality except to work or study.
In Madrid hospitals, patients are flocking and more than 40% of resuscitation beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.
At La Paz hospital, one of the main hospitals in Madrid, all 30 intensive care beds were occupied last week, according to the BBC.
Far from being as affected as the British or the Spaniards, the Germans in turn have to deal with measures that will upset their daily lives.
In several large cities such as Berlin or Cologne, bars and restaurants will have to close at 11 p.m.
And Angela Merkel warned: if no improvement occurs within ten days, new restrictions will come into force.
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The fear of the German authorities is in fact to miss what they believe to have succeeded in the first months.
“So far virtually no country in Europe has weathered this crisis as well as ours.
It depends on each of us not to spoil what has been accomplished, ”said Minister of Health Jen Spahn, quoted by Le Monde.
The Netherlands at the foot of the wall
With less than 10,000 deaths since the appearance of the coronavirus, Germany also seems relatively unaffected by the “second wave” compared to its neighbors.
The raw data are rather reassuring, with around 450 patients in intensive care units - out of 8,500 beds available - against just under 1,500 in France.
However, this figure has doubled in the space of a month.
These available places could be welcome for their Dutch neighbors.
This week, and as they had already done in the spring, the Batavian authorities asked that some of his patients be treated in German hospitals.
While Italy and Poland, a country far from being in as critical a situation as the Netherlands, have just imposed the wearing of masks outdoors, the Dutch still do not have the obligation to wear them in public spaces or indoors.
Member of the local scientific council, Diederik Gommers does not hide his anger, stressing that the number of people hospitalized because of Covid-19 has increased tenfold since the end of the summer and that a third of intensive care beds are occupied by people infected with the coronavirus.
"Stricter measures are inevitable", he judges in an interview with the daily AD, criticizing the attitude of his compatriots.
The Dutch official even says he is in favor of total containment "as quickly as possible".
