The past few days has seen record numbers of COVID-19 infection cases, especially in Europe, as the second coronavirus wave accelerates. This has led many countries, desperate to control the surge, to introduce sweeping measures.
Spain has declared a national state of emergency and imposed a night-time curfew, starting Monday, in an effort to help control the new surge in infections. In Italy, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Sunday signed a raft of new measures aimed at mitigating the surge in cases. He announced that all bars and restaurants must close by 6pm and cinemas, theatres, gyms, pools and concert halls will remain closed.
France, which on Sunday recorded a staggering 52,000 new cases, has extended an overnight curfew to cover new areas without ruling out a new national lockdown. Wales meanwhile entered a full lockdown on Friday evening, a day after Ireland shut down completely. Other European nations are mulling similar moves as it has become obvious that controlling the outbreak may not be possible at this stage.
The second wave is expected to be more challenging than the first, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) experts as the flu season kicks in- overwhelming hospitals and medical staff’s ability to deal with the influx of new cases
In the United States, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows remarked that his country will not be able to control pandemic. “It is a contagious virus just like the flu,” he told the CNN.
Despite that, governments are reluctant to impose total lockdowns similar to what they did earlier this year, due to the massive economic damage.
Surge in new cases
The second wave is expected to be more challenging than the first, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) experts as the flu season kicks in- overwhelming hospitals and medical staff’s ability to deal with the influx of new cases.
As the vaccine and treatment trials are still underway (they might not be available to deploy worldwide before several months at least), the world seems to have resigned to the fact that we must learn to live with the virus and employ all necessary means to minimise the risk.
In the UAE, the recovery rate continues to rise, and the death rate is at minimum due to the rapid intervention by authorities. But we have seen a rise in new cases which indicate that some of us may be ignoring the basic rules of prevention. It is upon us to fight the virus. We must help the health authorities as they work tirelessly to flatten the curve.
It is a national duty to observe the required containment measures such as use of face masks, social distancing, avoiding crowded areas and the use of sanitisation. This is a collective responsibility. By flouting these measures, we are endangering everyone around us.
