generalspeaking

Europe's Urgency to Return to Business As Usual

"[The jump in the infection and death rate was] probably due to the delay in inputting [the deaths] and the fact that we are coming out of a weekend."
"That's an indicator that the epidemic is continuing its advance."
"We have not yet reached the peak [even if the rate of admissions was slightly diminishing. So], to talk about lifting confinement makes no sense."
Jerome Salomon, health director, France

"One of the most important parts is not to let go of the measures too early in order not to have a fallback again."
"It's similar to being sick  yourself; if you get out of bed too early and get running too early, you risk falling back and having complications."
Christian Lindmeier, WHO spokesman

Ambulances outside the NHS Nightingale hospital. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Reuters

On Tuesday night the grim statistics revealed that the COVID-19 death toll had reached 10,000 in France, leading health officials to warn that discussions around the lifting of confinement "currently makes no sense"; since the peak of the epidemic in France had not yet been reached. With a daily death toll of 1,427 once deaths in care homes were included in the total, the situation is beyond critical. Including deaths from cornavirus taking place in retirement homes is of recent vintage.

Over 30,000 people are hospitalized at the present time in the country, with 7,131 of that total in intensive care. That, in and of itself is more than ample indication that France is nowhere near seeing an improvement in the infection and death rate as it rampages on. On the other hand, the number of patients leaving intensive care is now higher by a figure of 59 than the number of those entering those emergency hospital services.

Confinement, according to the nation's scientific committee, is slated to continue beyond the current deadline set for April 15, and likely to be extended until early May. The government of Spain, speaking of the first rise in the daily death toll in five days from COVID-19, dismissing it as a blip, with the insistence that the numbers were "going in the right direction", chose to extend their lockdown as well to April 26, at the very least.

In Italy, the hardest-hit of the European countries to be ravaged by the novel coronavirus, businesses have been begging the government to think about lifting confinement, even while the World Health Organization has strongly urged countries to refrain from lifting lockdowns too early. In the last 24 hours up to Tuesday morning, 743 people died in Spain, in comparison with 637 deaths that took place the previous day.

The figure, noted chief government spokesman Maria Jesus Montero was a mere "ripple" in the statistical trend owing to the weekend data processing. "The tendency of the data says we are going in the right direction", said Montero with confidence in announcing Tuesday's cabinet meeting had approved an extension of the nation's state of emergency.

A view from the empty Plaza de Colón in Madrid, Spain