COVID Reference

The COVID Textbook

++ Pandemic Autumn ++

by · Published · Updated

France lockdown

| 28 October | The dramatic second COVID-19 wave in France has lead Emmanuel Macron to announce a new lockdown in the country. The November lockdown which is due to last at least until the beginning of December will be less strict than in March. Schools, from kindergarten to college, will not close their doors. People will continue to go to work. Restaurants, bars and non-essential shops are closed. The borders remain open.


Foto: France 2. Reproduced with permission.

 

P.S. The ‘Parigots’, the people from Paris, are flocking to rural areas. The day after the president’s speech, the number of traffic jams in Ile-de-France (the Greater Paris area)  was high: shortly after 6 pm, more than 700 km, almost three times as much as normal. During the first confinement, in March, more than a million Ile-de-France residents had left the Paris region within a week.

Traffic jams in Ile-de-France on 29 October. Source: Sytadin, http://www.sytadin.fr/sys/barometre_courbe_cumul.jsp.html

 

 + + +

 

Germany slowdown

| 28 October | German Corona crisis summit agrees on massive restrictions. From November 2, restaurants are to close while schools and daycare centers remain open. According to the dpa news agency, the following resolutions have been taken:

  • Contacts: Only members of two households are allowed to meet in public – a maximum of ten people. Citizens are also encouraged to reduce contacts beyond their own household to an absolutely necessary minimum. “Groups of people celebrating in public places, in apartments as well as in private facilities are unacceptable in view of the serious situation in our country,” the decision said.
  • Unnecessary private trips and visits from relatives should be avoided.
  • Catering establishments are to close for the rest of the month from November 2nd, as are bars, discos and pubs. This does not apply to the delivery and collection of meals for consumption at home, canteens should be allowed to remain open.

Foto: Reuters. Reproduced with permission.

  • Wholesalers and retailers remain open subject to hygiene requirements. A maximum of one customer is allowed per ten square meters of sales area.
  • Services: Cosmetic studios, massage practices and tattoo studios should be closed because the minimum distance cannot be maintained here. Medically necessary treatments, for example by a physiotherapist, are still possible. Hairdressing salons will also remain open – subject to the existing hygiene requirements.
  • Supermarkets: The retail trade remains open – but there are regulations as to how many customers can be in the store at the same time.
  • Schools and kindergartens should remain open.
  • Professional sports, including the Bundesliga, should only take place in November without spectators.
  • Amateur sports operations will be discontinued, so clubs are no longer allowed to train. Individual sport, such as jogging alone, should continue to be allowed. Fitness studios, swimming pools and fun pools will be closed.
  • The federal and state governments want to largely ban events that serve entertainment and leisure activities across Germany from next week until the end of November. Theaters, operas and concert halls add to this. Casinos, gambling halls, betting shops and brothels must also close, as well as cinemas, amusement parks and trade fairs.
  • Tourist accommodation offers in Germany are prohibited in November. These should only be made for necessary purposes such as mandatory business trips.
  • Smaller companies with up to 50 employees should receive up to 75 percent of the turnover from November 2019, larger companies up to 70 percent. The fixed costs of a company should be lumped, it was announced from the negotiating circles. “The financial aid will have a financial volume of up to ten billion,” it says.

Source: Der Spiegel

 

+ + +

 

Slowdowns on the horizon

| 28 October | Charts by OurWorldInData show the pandemic situation in Europe. Today, more restrictive mitigation measures will be announced in France, Switzerland, Germany and other countries.

 

+ + +

 

Intensive care units in France could soon be saturated

| 23 October | Germain Forestier illustrates the occupancy rate of intensive care beds by COVID-19 patients in the regions of France from 16 August to 16 October. Data source: Le Ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé, France.

Tags:

You may also like...