It is some eight months now since the coronavirus touched down on the European continent and, as things stand now, the nations of western Europe seem no further ahead in defeating it than they were before a series of national lockdowns were imposed in late February and March. Sadly and disappointingly, the current rates of infection across much of the United Kingdom and the European Union are at the point where governments are struggling to contain the pandemic without having to return to full lockdowns — a measure of last resort.
In France, daily infection numbers are exceeding 20,000 cases daily. In Italy, a nation hardest hit in Europe by this pandemic, infection rates have returned to the point where in February authorities there pulled the shutters down on all social gatherings and economic activity. It is a similar story elsewhere.
Spanish authorities and regional leaders in Madrid are at loggerheads in just how restrictions should go. Greece this week recorded its highest death rate from coronavirus since March. And in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Ireland and Luxembourg, a series of restrictive measures have again mostly failed to stem the spread of the feared second wave.
For leaders across western Europe, the great dilemma now is to make the difficult choice between lives and livelihoods. The national lockdowns imposed in early spring may have largely stopped the spread of the coronavirus pandemic then — but the economic hibernation has been difficult and expensive to shake off, leaving a fiscal malaise that will take decades to correct
This are worrisome times too in the UK, where on Monday Prime Minister Boris Johnson detailed a three-tier restrictive system to be imposed across England with a quarter of its population now living in red districts. The fear is that unless the current spread across cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Sheffield, Newcastle and across the northeast and northwest, the medical system there will be simply overwhelmed with a matter of weeks — a daunting prospect given a cold and wet winter is only now about to take hold.
Hard choice to make
For leaders across western Europe, the great dilemma now is to make the difficult choice between lives and livelihoods. The national lockdowns imposed in early spring may have largely stopped the spread of the coronavirus pandemic then — but the economic hibernation has been difficult and expensive to shake off, leaving a fiscal malaise that will take decades to correct.
Now, with the second wave taking hold, there is a general repugnance to second national lockdowns. Instead regional restrictions of varying degrees, which attempt to strike a balance between health and wealth, are necessary. If there is one silver cloud, it is only that the death rate seems to have fallen significantly and survival rates have improved. That, however, is cold comfort for too many.
