LONDON, Aug 15, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Countries among the hardest hit by the
coronavirus pandemic unveiled further measures on Friday to battle rising
infections, as the number of cases worldwide passed 21 million.
The US Department of Homeland Security said it was extending a ban on non-
essential travel through border crossings with Canada and Mexico throughout
most of September “to slow the spread” of the disease.
Meanwhile Britain added France to its list of countries hit with a
mandatory two-week quarantine for returning holidaymakers from Saturday, as
Paris confronts a resurgent second wave of infections.
Confirmed cases in France reached levels not seen since May on Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday, at over 2,500 new cases per day.
The rising threat prompted Paris police to announce Friday that compulsory
mask-wearing outside would be extended to more areas of the French capital,
including the famed Louvre museum and Champs-Elysee avenue.
“If the epidemiological situation deteriorates again, mask-wearing could
become compulsory throughout the capital,” Paris police warned, also banning
gatherings and protests of more than 10 people which do not comply with
distancing measures.
Neighbouring Spain said it would close all nightclubs and ban smoking in
the street where people are unable to stay at a safe distance, after the
country reported almost 3,000 cases in 24 hours on Thursday.
“Personally I think it’s stupid, it’s over the top,” Madrid-based
translator Julien Garcia told AFP about the smoking ban.
In Germany, the Robert Koch Institute for disease control added all of
Spain except the Canary Islands to its list of regions where incoming
travellers must show a negative test for COVID-19 or quarantine for 14 days.
Austria urged its citizens to return from popular Mediterranean destination
Croatia before similar rules come into effect on Monday, while Serbia
introduced mandatory testing for travellers from four neighbouring countries.
And thousands of Albanians queued in their cars at the Greek border, hoping
to squeeze across and return to work before tougher entry requirements
designed to brake mounting infections come into effect.
Some people had been waiting for three days in the 20-kilometre (12-mile),
4,000-car jam, an Albanian police source said.
Around the world, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases passed 21 million
on Friday according to an AFP tally from official sources, with more than
755,000 fatalities.
The United States has suffered the most deaths at 168,318, followed by
Brazil with 105,463, Mexico 55,293, and India with 48,040.
– Cross-Channel scramble –
France and the Netherlands have now joined Spain and several other European
nations on Britain’s quarantine list, having at first been granted
exemptions.
French student Antoine, 23, had to rush back to Bristol, where he is at
university, cutting short his summer holidays.
“I’m a waiter in a small cafe near college, I can’t afford to spend 14 days
in the house,” he said at London’s St Pancras railway station after getting
off a Eurostar train.
French holidaymakers in the UK will be faced with tough choices of their
own, as Paris swiftly announced a “reciprocal measure”, although it was
unclear when that might be imposed.
The Netherlands said it would advise against all but essential travel to
Britain, but will not impose a quarantine of its own for incoming travellers.
A slew of data Friday revealed the scale of the economic impact of the
virus and punishing lockdowns, with Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, the
Netherlands, Finland and Denmark all booking hefty hits to GDP in April-June.
“Never before” has the Dutch economy suffered shrinkage of 8.5 percent in a
single quarter, the CBS statistics office said, while Denmark and Hungary
both reported their worst slumps since the early 1990s.
Central European heavyweight Poland entered its first recession since the
end of the communist era.
– All eyes on vaccines –
Hopes to break the cycle of outbreaks and lockdowns have turned to a
vaccine, with Britain saying Friday it has secured access to another 90
million doses of two “promising” vaccines.
Vietnam meanwhile said it was looking to buy a bulk order of Russia’s
“Sputnik” vaccine, although Western scientists have raised concerns about the
speed of its development and suggested that researchers might be cutting
corners.
And Washington said it would distribute any vaccine proven to be effective
to all Americans for free.
Mexico said it and Argentina aim to have a vaccine available for Latin
America — now the region with the worst virus toll and most cases — early
next year under a production agreement with drug giant AstraZeneca.
New Zealand is battling its second outbreak of infections and extended a
lockdown of its largest city Auckland by at least 12 days, giving health
authorities more time to trace and contain a variant of the virus previously
unseen in the country.
The Pacific island nation’s initial response to the pandemic was hailed a
success, but a run of 102 days with no reported community transmission ended
on Tuesday.
The country has now detected a cluster of 30 virus cases, and genomic tests
indicated the latest infections were not the same strain of coronavirus
recorded earlier this year.