Europe may be spiking again  

Quote

WHO warns of 'very serious situation' in Europe, with 'alarming rates' of virus transmission

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that coronavirus cases are surging alarmingly in Europe, as a "very serious situation" unfolds across the continent.

As Covid-19 infections spike to record numbers, European governments are imposing strict local measures and weighing up further lockdowns in a bid to halt a second wave of the pandemic.

But WHO regional director Hans Kluge said at a Thursday news conference that the increase in cases should serve as a warning of what is to come.

"Weekly cases have now exceeded those reported when the pandemic first peaked in Europe in March," Kluge said. "Last week, the region's weekly tally exceeded 300,000 patients."

More than half of European nations have reported an increase of more than 10% in new cases in the past two weeks, Kluge added. "Of those, seven countries have seen newly reported cases increase more than two-fold in the same period," he said.

"In the spring and early summer we were able to see the impact of strict lockdown measures. Our efforts, our sacrifices, paid off. In June cases hit an all-time low. The September case numbers, however, should serve as a wake-up call for all of us," he said.

"Although these numbers reflect more comprehensive testing, it also shows alarming rates of transmission across the region."

While there was an increase in cases in older age groups, those aged 50 to 79, in the first week of September, Kluge said, the biggest proportion of new cases is still among 25- to 49-year-olds.

Countries across the continent have been easing lockdowns and reopening their economies, but governments are now scrambling to avert further outbreaks.

"This pandemic has taken so much from us," Kluge said, citing the nearly 4.9 million recorded Covid-19 cases in Europe and more than 226,000 deaths. "And this tells only part of the story," he said. "The impact on our mental health, economies, livelihoods and society has been monumental."

New restrictions

In France, Covid-19 hospitalizations have risen in recent days in large cities such as Paris, Bordeaux and Marseille.

Earlier this year, the first coronavirus wave spiked fast in France, but it was cut short by a strict nationwide lockdown. In total more than 31,000 people died there from the disease, out of more than 443,000 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

Now, the number of new infections is rising fast. A record was set over the weekend with more than 10,000 new cases in a single day. The number of clusters has been rising steadily and, most worryingly, nationwide, the number of people in intensive care has risen 25% in the past week.

Cases in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Italy have also increased.

New restrictions were imposed across England this week barring people from meeting socially in groups of more than six, of all ages, indoors or outdoors. Scotland and Wales have also tightened their social distancing rules.

From Friday, even stricter measures will apply in the northeast of England amid a "concerning rise" in Covid-19 infection rates there, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced in Parliament on Thursday.

The measures include a ban on socializing outside households or "support bubbles" and a mandated closing time of 10 p.m. for all bars, pubs, restaurants and leisure centers. They will apply to seven areas -- including the cities of Newcastle, Sunderland and Durham -- and will affect more than 1.5 million people.

Hancock stressed the need to take "immediate action" against the virus with winter approaching.

At least 41,773 people have died with coronavirus in the UK, according to JHU, the highest toll in Europe and fifth-largest number of any country in the world.

The UK government has come under pressure over recent failings in its coronavirus testing system, with some people -- including health care workers -- experiencing difficulty in accessing tests or being directed to testing sites far from home.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended Britain's coronavirus testing record Wednesday, saying it compared favorably to other European countries and that recent problems were due to a "colossal spike" in demand.

WHO chief: We can fight the virus back again

Authorities in the Spanish capital of Madrid are to announce new coronavirus restrictions on Friday as the country also responds to an uptick in the number of cases.

Spain has now recorded more than 30,000 deaths since the start of the outbreak, with more than 600,000 total cases.

Madrid accounts for approximately a third of all new cases, according to data from the country's health ministry.

The president of Madrid's regional government, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has suggested that migrant populations are partly to blame.

"(The outbreaks are partly) due to the way of life of Madrid's immigrants and the population density of these districts," she said Tuesday. "It is a way of life in Madrid."

Meanwhile, German authorities have imposed new restrictions and ordered more testing in a popular Bavarian ski resort after a coronavirus outbreak that has been linked to a US citizen working at a lodge operated by the US Army.

The state prosecution service in Munich said it had launched an investigation into the American who may have caused the surge in cases.

New regulations imposed in the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen over the weekend mean local bars will now close at 10 p.m. Parties are limited to 100 people -- down from 200 -- and groups eating indoors are capped at five, down from twice that.

In neighboring Austria, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has warned citizens that more cases are on their way. ''We are at the beginning of the second wave," he tweeted Sunday. "We are facing difficult months in the autumn and winter. The number of infections is increasing from day to day.''

Kurz asked Austrian citizens to continue to adhere to all virus measures and reduce social contacts.

Meanwhile countries including Greece and Croatia, largely spared by the first wave, saw fast case number rises in August as tourists took summer vacations following the reopening of Europe's internal borders in June.

Kluge urged "an amplified collective effort by all European member states for the sake of all European member states," as he addressed the media Thursday.

"The response to the crisis has been very effective whenever the actions were prompt and resolute but the virus has shown (itself to be) merciless whenever partisanship and disinformation prevailed," he said.

"Where the pandemic goes from here is in our hands. We have fought it back before and we can fight it back again."

 

 

man, this hoax is really tough to get rid of. 

1 minute ago, Alpha_TATEr said:

man, this hoax is really tough to get rid of. 

I'm shocked he was able to get all of Europe in on it

 

This could have helped.

 

5 minutes ago, toolg said:

This could have helped.

 

But that could have caused a panic! Do you really want that on your hands?

13 minutes ago, toolg said:

This could have helped.

 

Panic?  Everyone had been in lockdown for weeks by early April.  Their excuses are so pathetic.

11 minutes ago, toolg said:

This could have helped.

 

Jesus F'ing Christ!!!

If this is true, I honestly don't know how anyone with even a semblance of morality can still defend this ish. This isn't some personal belief debate or pointless discussion on arbitrary decisions, this is tens of thousands of lives in the early stages of a pandemic hanging in the balance. Blood that will forever be on his hands. All because of some anti-science bullsheet reasoning that "masks might do more harm than good." What a fat disgusting piece of ish.

11 minutes ago, JohnSnowsHair said:

But that could have caused a panic! Do you really want that on your hands?

It speaks volumes to his weak leadership.  Yes, you want to do everything you can to keep a panic from starting.  If he came out with "Ok, this is going to be hard and if we are not careful this will get out of control so if we don't do X, Y, and Z there could be many many deaths", we could have went down a better path AND not had panic.  Instead, here we are.

 

 

Hell, even the joker knew society could withstand horrible s*** as long as there is a plan.

that is insane. how can anyone still want to vote for that POS ? 

6 hours ago, JohnSnowsHair said:

And you picked this out of the 100s of studies that have been published because it stood out for its scientific merit right? 

You're a clown.

I picked it out because, unlike most other scientific papers, it’s being censored by social media.

Cancel culturing a scientific claim from a prominent Chinese scientist who literally put her life on the line to say what she said is pretty mind boggling in my view. If other scientists want to contest her claims, that’s fine and in fact exactly what should be done. That’s how science works. You don’t just crap down anything that is politically unappealing.

8 minutes ago, TEW said:

I picked it out because, unlike most other scientific papers, it’s being censored by social media.

Cancel culturing a scientific claim from a prominent Chinese scientist who literally put her life on the line to say what she said is pretty mind boggling in my view. If other scientists want to contest her claims, that’s fine and in fact exactly what should be done. That’s how science works. You don’t just crap down anything that is politically unappealing.

Ok chief.

2 hours ago, paco said:

Europe may be spiking again  

 

A decent curve forming north of the border again...

As of right now, deaths/ICU/vents are at their lowest point since March despite the recent upward swing in positive cases. I'm guessing we don't see a big increase even as cases rise, but it will be interesting to monitor. I think we're in for a moderate positive caseload and a slow burn with fairly low deaths/ICU/vents until a vaccine is ready. 

 

3 hours ago, TEW said:

I picked it out because, unlike most other scientific papers, it’s being censored by social media.

Cancel culturing a scientific claim from a prominent Chinese scientist who literally put her life on the line to say what she said is pretty mind boggling in my view. If other scientists want to contest her claims, that’s fine and in fact exactly what should be done. That’s how science works. You don’t just crap down anything that is politically unappealing.

They already have, hence the "censorship" from the big bad meany head companies. But we all know that's not the reason why you latched onto it. The real reason is because it deflects from the fact that your boy has botched the handling of this since day 1. Time to face reality, he's a moron and a danger to the citizens of this country. And no amount of hand waving, or name calling of the "Chinese virus" will change that.

1 hour ago, we_gotta_believe said:

They already have, hence the "censorship" from the big bad meany head companies. But we all know that's not the reason why you latched onto it. The real reason is because it deflects from the fact that your boy has botched the handling of this since day 1. Time to face reality, he's a moron and a danger to the citizens of this country. And no amount of hand waving, or name calling of the "Chinese virus" will change that.

Sure, but what if TEW just really really REALLY doesn't like the Chinese? Does that do anything for you?

He's probably at least 89th percentile. Maybe.

 

(No.)

10 hours ago, JohnSnowsHair said:

Sure, but what if TEW just really really REALLY doesn't like the Chinese? Does that do anything for you?

He's probably at least 89th percentile. Maybe.

 

(No.)

TEW not liking someone because of their race? What a completely unfounded and baseless accusation!

28 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

TEW not liking someone because of their race? What a completely unfounded and baseless accusation!

well, he's no Kz, but..

Euro countries are moving into their 2nd waves now.  Several are slowing things back down but no one has gone back to lockdown.

 

apparently they found out the student was positive because rumors were going around school and someone called and checked

Smh...

48 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

Euro countries are moving into their 2nd waves now.  Several are slowing things back down but no one has gone back to lockdown.

Do the new outbreaks seem to be clustered around anything in particular? Schools etc?

https://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-blocked-usps-from-sending-face-masks-to-all-households-2020-9

• The White House scuttled a plan to partner with the US Postal Service to send every American a face mask, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. 
• A draft press release obtained by The Post showed that the Postal Service was preparing to send out 650 million face masks in April to supply every household with them. 
• However, a senior administration official told The Post that the White House nixed the plan because officials thought "receiving masks might create concern or panic." 

1 hour ago, DEagle7 said:

Do the new outbreaks seem to be clustered around anything in particular? Schools etc?

I've seen reports in the Nordic countries that point to clusters but not schools so much no.  One report in particular was a factory which was in Norway.

Swedish numbers just out.  Nothing much to report.  There is a mini increase in positive cases over the last two weeks but all other number are down and Sweden's weekly new case numbers, R-number, admission into COVID wards, etc. are all running lower than neighboring Nordic countries.  Have to keep an eye on that positive cases trend to see if this is a little mini back to school type bump like the back from vacation bump we saw in the middle of August or something bigger.

In any case, Denmark, Norway, and now Iceland are all turning up the restrictions again.  Not sure yet if they go back to lockdown or more toward the milder Swedish model from several months back.

 

Edit: I looked a little closer at the numbers and Sweden is now down to 1.2% rate of tests being positive.  That's the lowest since the real more wide spread testing started.  However, there are significantly more tests being carried out now so the confirmed cases number is slightly higher the last couple of weeks.

3 minutes ago, mr_hunt said:

https://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-blocked-usps-from-sending-face-masks-to-all-households-2020-9

• The White House scuttled a plan to partner with the US Postal Service to send every American a face mask, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. 
• A draft press release obtained by The Post showed that the Postal Service was preparing to send out 650 million face masks in April to supply every household with them. 
• However, a senior administration official told The Post that the White House nixed the plan because officials thought "receiving masks might create concern or panic." 

What kind of face mask? A disposable one that lasts you a whole day if your lucky?

14 minutes ago, SNOORDA said:

What kind of face mask? A disposable one that lasts you a whole day if your lucky?

reusable masks.