Strict containment in the UK
The British government has decided to reconfine London and the south-east of England from this Sunday, December 20, dealing a coup de grace to the Christmas reunion, in an attempt to stem a surge in contamination attributed to a new strain of the new coronavirus.
Read also: Covid-19: should we be worried about the mutant circulating in the south-east of England?
British Health Minister Matt Hancock said on Sunday that the new strain of Covid-19 was "
out of control
" to justify the re-containment of London and part of England, which he said could last until a vaccine is deployed.
“
Unfortunately the new strain was out of control.
We had to take back control, and the only way to do that is to restrict social contact,
”Matt Hancock told Sky News.
"
It will be very difficult to keep it under control until a vaccine is deployed,
" he added.
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Covid-19: Boris Johnson announces a reconfinement of London and the south-east of England
Already under severe restrictions, residents of the capital and south-eastern England are now under a new alert level, the fourth, highest.
They are instructed to stay at home and non-essential businesses can no longer open.
Last minute Christmas shopping is therefore over.
"
It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that we can not let Christmas unfold as planned
", explained Boris Johnson on Saturday, ensuring that he had "
no choice
".
"
Red
"
Italy
for the holidays
The Italian Prime Minister announced a graduated containment plan from December 21 to January 6, in order to reduce travel and gatherings during the end-of-year celebrations.
Read also: Story of a mutant: how the coronavirus evolved
All of Italy will be classified "
red
", the strictest level of containment, for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Italians will however have the right to leave their homes to participate in a family meal with limited covers, a decree issued on Saturday ruled.
Italians will be able to travel once a day in their region to visit relatives or friends, outside the already existing curfew (10 p.m.-5 a.m.).
Third confinement in Austria
The Austrian government will establish a third general containment as early as Boxing Day in an attempt to contain the pandemic, the government said on Friday.
Read also: Sylvain Tesson, poet in freedom in a confined time
From December 26 to January 24, a curfew will apply again all day.
After January 18, only residents who have undergone an antigen test will be able to resume social life before the general lifting of restrictions planned at this stage for all on January 24.
Keeping open-air sports open, and therefore ski lifts for alpine skiing, from December 24, is left to the discretion of local and regional authorities.
Partial confinement until January 10 in Germany
Germany entered a partial containment on Wednesday, which is expected to last at least until January 10 amid the worrying spread of the pandemic and a record number of deaths from the virus.
A re-containment that involves, among other things, the closure of all non-essential businesses and schools.
Teleworking is also strongly favored.
However, the Germans can continue to move without authorization.
Read also: Covid-19: Germany records a record of infections in 24 hours at more than 30,000
Certain regions like Saxony are particularly affected by the virus to the point that the leaders of this landlocked region and which knows a strong vote of the far right opposed to the wearing of the mask, could, according to the media, completely confine certain municipalities and cantons.
Germany is also "
seriously
" considering suspending flights to Great Britain and South Africa.
In Switzerland, new restrictions
The Swiss federal government announced new measures on Friday to try to stem the epidemic.
Thus, the country will impose for a month from December 22, the closure of restaurants, cultural and sports establishments as well as places of leisure, but will leave stores open.
Switzerland records more than 4,000 new infections and more than 100 deaths every day.
In total, the country has recorded 400,000 cases and 6,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Fear of new measures in Spain
No containment measure has yet been officially announced in Spain.
The country nevertheless fears the announcement of new restrictions by the end of next week.
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Change of course in Sweden
Faced with the increasingly heavy toll of the second wave in the country, Sweden made a further turnaround in its atypical strategy on Friday, recommending for the first time the mask in public transport.
Containment or complete closures of bars, restaurants and shops are not the order of the day.
New turn of the screw in Denmark
Denmark will tighten up its restrictive measures again by closing businesses from December 25 to January 3.
These restrictions join the long list of measures taken, after the extension of semi-containment measures (closure of middle and high schools, bars, restaurants, sports centers and cultural venues) to the whole country.
Flexibility for Belgium
While a partial containment has been in place since the end of October in Belgium as well as a curfew from midnight to 5 a.m., the restrictions were relaxed on December 1 with the reopening of so-called "
non-essential
" businesses for purchases. of Christmas.
Museums and swimming pools have also been authorized to reopen in accordance with a strict health protocol.
Bars, restaurants, cafes, cinemas, theaters, performance halls, beauty salons, for their part, are still closed.
For Christmas, Belgium is one of the countries in Europe that limits the number of guests the most: one guest per household, two for people living alone.
Local containment in Thailand
Thailand imposed a lockdown on Saturday around the country's largest seafood market, near Bangkok, where a local resumption of the epidemic was detected.
Read also: Covid-19: the number of cases of contamination on the rise
Authorities have announced 548 new cases of contamination linked to the Mahachai shellfish market, less than an hour's drive from the center of the capital.
Toronto lockdown extended
In containment for nearly a month, Canada's metropolis, Toronto, and much of its region will remain so for another two weeks due to the acceleration of the pandemic, the Ontario government announced on Friday.
In Montreal, a partial re-containment with the closure of non-essential businesses should also come into effect on December 25.
New restrictions in Australia
Australia introduced new restrictions Sunday, December 20 in Sydney in an attempt to alleviate the recent emergence of new cases in the country's largest city.
Read also: Australia: an anti-Covid vaccine stopped following a false HIV test
Since the appearance of a new epidemic focus on Thursday, 68 new contaminations have been recorded, including 30 this Sunday, causing concern to health authorities.
On Saturday, residents of several neighborhoods along the coast north of the city, were ordered to stay at home and only go out if needed until midnight Wednesday.
Beaches, bars and hotels in this area have been closed as Sydney's estimated 5 million residents have been urged to stay at home as much as possible in the days to come.
The State of New South Wales, where Sydney is located, decreed this Sunday the ban on singing and dancing in closed places except on the occasion of small weddings and during religious services.
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"This is the time of year when we all love to sing, but right now dancing and singing is probably one of the most dangerous things you can do,"
the Minister of Health warned of this. State, Brad Hazzard.
Restaurants, bars and cafes in the rest of Sydney will not be able to accommodate more than 300 customers, while the number of people who can visit third parties is also limited.
Wearing a mask, which is not compulsory, remains however strongly recommended.
Authorities are due to review these measures on Wednesday in the hope that some can be lifted.
Curfew in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
A curfew came into effect on Friday evening in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to stop the transmission of Covid-19, which mainly affects the capital Kinshasa.
Police roadblocks have appeared in Kinshasa, a city of at least ten million inhabitants, an AFP journalist noted.
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