Civic agents checking that people follow Covid-19 rules on Lloret de Mar beach in Spain. Summer ... [+]
NurPhoto via Getty ImagesWarnings of a “second wave of coronavirus in Europe,” which fill the European news media right now, aren’t only catastrophic for the tourism industry, a backlash against governments in process of reopening their borders and economies and dangerous for travelers anxious to escape months of confinement, but a scary sign that a second lockdown could be inevitable at least for some regions.
The situation, changing day by day and country by country makes it difficult to predict what’s coming. The most recent scientific discussions raise the notion that the feared “second wave” might not exist at all and that, rather, the continent and the world are suffering ‘one big wave.’
With no evidence of seasonal variations, as with common flus and other corona viruses, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the initial coronavirus pandemic is simply continuing — and accelerating.
Newly-arrived passengers from California and Turkey wait to be tested for coronavirus (COVID-19) at ... [+]
Getty ImagesDifferent Seasons, Same Severe Transmission
Confronted by a resurgence or ‘seasonal return’ of the disease, the WHO recommends not thinking of seasons but, rather, of continued measures aimed at slowing transmission that appears to be accelerated by mass gatherings, according to spokesperson Margaret Harris.
“What we all need to get our heads around is this is a new virus, and even though it is a respiratory virus and even though respiratory viruses in the past did tend to do these different seasonal waves, this one is behaving differently,” she warned.
Telling examples are the United States and Brazil, each in different seasons yet among the countries with the most severe contagion.
“It’s going to be one big wave,” Harris explained. “It’s going to go up and down a bit. The best thing is to flatten it and turn it into just something lapping at your feet.”
The WHO had warned that countries were facing an “immediate second peak” if they keep hastily abandoning lockdown measures.
The End Of Travel Bridges?
Governments around Europe as well as the WHO and European Union health officials closely monitoring spikes in the number of cases are unveiling new travel restrictions literally every day, adding to the list of countries marked “red” and practically putting an end to travel arrangements known as ‘air bridges’ agreed among countries deemed to have the virus under control, to allow their travelers to go and return without quarantine.
Quarantines of 14 days are being reimposed on tourists returning from countries that are suffering serious relapses including Spain and Belgium as governments closely monitor spikes in the number of cases in others such as Luxembourg and Croatia, where the contagion has been rising.
Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Germany and Belgium have advised their citizens not to travel to Spain’s Catalonia because of the high number of coronavirus cases over recent weeks.
Country By Country
Germany, which has fared better than many of its neighbors, has seen a rise of new cases. The head of the country’s disease-prevention agency blamed residents failing to follow guidelines and take the necessary precautions, while the foreign ministry advised people not to travel to hard-hit Spanish regions that are grappling with renewed outbreaks, including Aragon, Catalonia and Navarre.
Airports in the country are now offering coronavirus tests to travelers.
The United Kingdom also has warned against non-essential travel to Spain, including the Canary and Balearic islands, and is imposing quarantine on those returning tourists, while considering adding countries to its red list.
Spain, meanwhile, which has recorded 280,610 cases of the virus and 28,436 deaths, has imposed new controls in areas most affected, limiting gatherings inside and outside restaurants and cafes, and even at home, to 10 people.
In Madrid, bars and nightclubs – which have been the sources of many new infections – now must close by 1.30 a.m., while patrons must show their ID number before entering in order to facilitate tracing eventually. The regional government is asking for the central government to administer PCR tests to people arriving at Madrid’s Barajas airport.
In Belgium, where the Covid-19 rate almost tripled this month from 5.3 to 15.1 per 100,000 people and the number of cases rose from 615 to 1,751, the government also reinforced restrictions such as the numbers of people allowed to socialize, social distancing and the obligatory use of masks.
In France, officials warning people to be vigilant are worried about the risks of a “second wave” but aren’t suggesting similar measures.
According to figures published earlier this week, the number of cases has dropped almost to half the 1,000 registered last Thursday and Friday. France saw almost 5,000 cases a day at the height of the pandemic.
In the United States, which continues to dwell among the EU-red-listed countries, the State Department advises Americans “to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19. In countries where commercial travel options remain available, U.S. citizens should arrange for immediate return to the United States, unless they are prepared to remain abroad for an indefinite length of time.”
Bringing The Virus From The Vacation
The prevailing fear: citizens bringing the virus back with them from their summer vacation.
On the other hand, spokesmen from the travel and tourism industry have been lobbying for governments to find new ways involving testing to save the industries and allow people to travel safely.
“We need to find a way of getting ‘red countries’ opened up again,” John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of Heathrow Airport, told The Telegraph. “Testing is the only viable way of doing that in the absence of a vaccine. A lot of countries which are red-listed have millions of people who don’t have the disease and can’t travel. That’s holding back economic recovery.”
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SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesThe Virus, Here To Stay
The consensus among scientists is that the virus is widespread among the world’s population and has extended to 188 countries so far. What we’re seeing is “essentially localized spikes or a localized return of a large number of cases,” according to Edinburgh University Public Health professor Linda Bauld, in The Guardian.
From the WHO’s global point of view, the pandemic is a single, large and still-accelerating outbreak, with worldwide numbers doubling over the past six weeks.
The U.S, for example, generally is not experience a second wave, according to that analysis, because the first wave never really stopped. “The virus is simply spreading into new populations or reappearing in places that let down their guard too soon,” The Guardian reports. “The WHO is looking at world figures and these are still increasing. So as a pandemic, we are in the first wave.”
The organization says the Covid-19 pandemic is the most severe global health emergency it has ever declared.
There have been five other global health emergencies: Two outbreaks of Ebola, Zika, polio and swine flu, BBC reports.
Around the world, more than 16 million cases of Covid-19 have been reported since January, and more than 650,000 deaths.
The Link LonkJuly 30, 2020 at 01:50AM
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Europe Travel: Coronavirus Reawakens, Air-Bridges Collapse, ‘Red Countries’ Swell As Second Lockdown Looms - Forbes
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