The arrival of autumn and the low temperatures have ended the illusory feeling of having defeated the virus. In some European countries, the increase in positive cases has reached record numbers since the start of the pandemic almost two years ago, with the novelty that now it is possible to differentiate between “vaccinated” and “unvaccinated”. Given this situation, the imposition of restrictions is once again on the table and possible confinements are even being considered.
In Germany, the new wave has been described as “the pandemic of the unvaccinated”, with figures like last Thursday, 50,000 new infections in a single day, which have sown panic among the country’s authorities. Acting Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet this week with her Health Minister, Jens Spahn, and the federal states to agree on measures, including the possibility of imposing mandatory vaccination to be able to work in certain sectors, such as health. At the moment, in several states, you can only access the interior of bars and restaurants with the full vaccine schedule or having overcome the virus.
After registering the highest number of infections since the start of the pandemic, 16,364 cases, and with an incidence of 93.2 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, the Netherlands has recovered the safety distance between people, the visit limit, as well as teleworking, and, in addition, it has ordered the closing of non-essential stores to 6:00 p.m. and the hotel, supermarkets, and pharmacies to 8:00 p.m.
For its part, Austria suffers the fastest spread of the virus since March 2020, breaking records for infections. Although the numbers of hospitalized have not yet reached those registered last winter, the increase in pressure in the ICUs is worrying. As in Germany, access to certain premises will be restricted exclusively to those who have the full vaccination schedule or have passed Covid-19. At the same time, the Austrian government is seriously considering authorizing the confinement of people who have not been vaccinated or cured of Covid-19, who could only leave the house to work, shop or take a walk. The controversial measure must be negotiated with the governments of the nine Austrian regions, as well as in a debate in Parliament.
In Hungary, the use of a mask on public transport is once again mandatory from November 1 and companies are allowed to demand that their workers be vaccinated, who could lose their job if they continue without being vaccinated within a year.
Nothing comparable to the measures adopted by Slovakia, where hotels, bars and restaurants are closed again, as are gyms. The mask is mandatory both indoors and outdoors and no more than 100 vaccinated people are allowed in the same place. The government is also considering limiting the freedom of movement of the unvaccinated.
The country most affected by the new wave of the pandemic is Bulgaria, with an average of 200 deaths per day in a population of almost seven million inhabitants. The country has been without a government for months and is in the midst of elections, the third in a year.
If these countries seem to have something in common, it is a slow or low vaccination rate. In Germany, only 66.9% of citizens have the complete vaccination schedule and more than 3 million people over the age of 60 have not yet been vaccinated. In Austria, the percentage drops to 64%, something that the chancellor, the conservative Alexander Schallenberg, has described as “shameful”. Meanwhile, Bulgaria registers the worst vaccination rate in the European Union, with less than a quarter of the population with the full schedule.
On the other hand, Denmark, the first country in the European Union to return to normality, has recovered the Covid passport for bars, restaurants, nightclubs and all kinds of mass events. Likewise, employers are authorized to ask their employees for proof of vaccination, cure or negative test.
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