November 2nd. France began to restart the nationwide blockade on October 30 to deal with the second wave of the pandemic, and it will last at least until December
1. If the pandemic situation does not improve, extension of the blockade cannot be ruled out. In the first wave of the pandemic this spring, the nationwide blockade measures were extended twice. In recent days, many European countries have followed up and announced different levels of blockade plans.
According to the Le Figaro, the total number of confirmed patients in the UK has exceeded 1 million, which is another European country with a total number of cases exceeding the one million threshold after Russia, Spain, and France.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on the afternoon of October 31 that the blockade would start on November 5 and last at least until December
2. The United Kingdom’s lockdown plan is similar to France. It will close all non-essential businesses, including non-essential shops, bars and restaurants, and restrict travel to a minimum. Only purchase necessities, outdoor exercise, and it is impossible to go to work remotely. Certain circumstances such as transporting children to school are exempt. Unlike France, British universities are still open.
The Secretary of the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom, Michael Gove, stated on November 1 that the planned one-month blockade in the United Kingdom “may last until after December 2.” The United Kingdom will pay a heavy economic price for containment measures. The International Monetary Fund predicts that Britain’s GDP will shrink by 10.4% in 2020.
The British government stated that the resumption of the blockade
The British government stated that the resumption of the blockade is to “save Christmas.” France has also expressed this desire, but the French authorities cannot assure the French that they will have the opportunity to reunite with their families during the New Year holiday unless the pandemic curve is significantly reversed.
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced that the partial blockade will be restarted from November 4th. The three cities in the northern part of the country have been blocked for about 10 days. This will expand to 121 out of 308 cities across the country, involving about 7.1 million people. Residents, covering 70% of the total population of Portugal.
The new regulations require compliance with civic obligations and stay at home as much as possible, but you can pick up your children to school. If you can’t work remotely, you can leave home to go to work. The company must implement a shift commuting system and stores must close before 22:00.
Belgium will implement stricter restrictions
Belgium will implement stricter restrictions on November 2 for a period of 6 weeks. Including closing non-essential stores other than food stores and pharmacies, compulsory telecommuting when possible, only one person for door-to-door visits, extension of school holidays to November 15th, and no more than 4 people travelling outdoors.
Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz announced that from November 3 to the end of the month, the lockdown will be restarted, restaurants, hotels, cultural and sports institutions will be closed, and curfews will be imposed to curb the spread of the pandemic.
Greek Prime Minister Kiriakos Misotakis announced that a partial blockade
Greek Prime Minister Kiriakos Misotakis announced that a partial blockade will be implemented on November 3 to deal with the second wave of the pandemic. During this period, a curfew from midnight to 5 am will be implemented, and the capital Athens and others will be closed. Some city bars and restaurants.
The Geneva authorities of Switzerland announced on November 1 that they would go beyond national-level pandemic prevention restrictions and close bars, restaurants and non-essential shops from the 2nd.
The Swiss Ski Lift Association also stated that masks must be worn on all ski lifts this winter. In addition, Slovakia started the new coronavirus antigen test for all the population of the country on October 31, which is the first time in the world.
European Central Bank President Christina Lagarde has recently expressed concern about the “deterioration” of the economic outlook. She said that due to the resurgence of the pandemic in Europe and the strengthening of containment measures, the economic recovery in the euro area “lost momentum”, which has adversely affected the short-term prospects.
