Europe is hitting record high COVID-19 cases, and cases are now rising faster than the United States.
Europe hit a major surge of cases after easing off lockdowns and restrictions. Countries like Germany, France, the UK, the Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, and the Netherlands are all reporting record case numbers in the past two days.
Source: Our World in Data
The World Health Organization’s agency director for Europe, Hans Kluge, reports that COVID-19 is now the fifth-leading cause of death in Europe. There is an estimate of 10,000 deaths a day from the virus.
The daily death toll in January could be “four to five times higher than what we recorded in April,” according to Kluge.
Since Europe is now experiencing a second-wave of COVID-19 cases, many countries are returning with lockdowns and restrictions. The UK has put much of the country back under restrictions, including making some businesses that are in cities with outbreaks to close.
Hospitality workers gather to protest against COVID-19 restrictions in Parliament Square in London on October 19. (Source: Getty Images)
France has placed curfews in major cities, including Paris, making 20 million people follow a curfew. Germany is limiting gatherings and put a curfew on bars and restaurants.
Other countries, like Spain and the Netherlands, are having intense restrictions. Spain put its capital, Madrid, in lockdown, along with other areas. The Netherlands closed all bars, restaurants, and coffee shops unless it’s a to-go order. The country also limited how many people can visit a household.
It is expected that more European countries will go under a lockdown or impose restrictions on their residents to help slow down the outbreak.
There are more reported cases of the virus because testing is far more available now than it was at the beginning of the pandemic. However, hospitalizations have increased and death rates are slowly starting to increase.
The 27 countries in the European Union have finally surpassed the United States’ record of the highest number of covid cases last week. The continent had more cases of covid last month.
However, the size of Europe is fairly larger than the United States. Europe has 740 million, while the United States only has 330 million.
Source: Vox