Many European countries continue to fight against the coronavirus epidemic. Germany reported a record number of new deaths in a single day on the 8th. France may delay the reopening of ski resorts.
Hungary announced the extension of epidemic prevention restrictions until February 1.
According to the data of the Robert Koch Institute of Disease Control and Prevention in Germany on the 8th, 1,188 new deaths in Germany in the past 24 hours, surpassing the record of 1,129 on December 30 last year.
Germany’s 31,849 new confirmed cases on that day, one of the peaks in a single day so far.
The central German state of Thuringia is one of the most affected areas in Europe’s largest economy.
Thuringia Governor Bodo Ramello called on the German federal government to extend restrictions to all economic activities, that is, measures taken in response to the first wave of the epidemic.
“I don’t think there’s any other option …
we made a mistake and missed the opportunity to stop economic activity [last year] in December,” Ramello told a reporter from China Deutsche Radio.
Reuters reported that in December last year, the German government asked restaurants and shops selling non-essential goods to close, but did not close production activities and failed to significantly reduce the number of new confirmed cases.
France is the seventh-largest country in the world with the highest number of coronavirus deaths, with more than 66,000 deaths so far from the novel coronavirus.
The French government was originally scheduled to implement the third phase of “unblocking” measures on January 20, including reopening the ski resort.
Jean-Baptiste Le Mouiner, the secretary of state for tourism affairs in the French diplomatic department, told the French media on the 8th that the government’s decision to reopen ski resorts depends on when the epidemic is under control.
French Prime Minister Jean Casté said on the 7th that due to the rapid spread of the epidemic and the heavy pressure on hospitals, some public places such as restaurants and museums throughout France will remain closed until mid-February, and ski resorts may not reopen before February.
Dominique Marcel, CEO of the French Alps that operates the ski resort, said that whether the ski resort can reopen in February is “life and death” for some industry companies.
“If February cannot be opened, we must face the reality. This ski season is over.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Orban Victor announced on the 8th that Hungary will extend curfews and other epidemic prevention restrictions until February 1.
In order to control the second wave of the epidemic, the landlocked country in Central Europe implemented strict epidemic prevention measures since November 11 last year, including closing hotels and restaurants, curfew from 7 o’clock every night, and banning gatherings.
The Danish Ministry of Health announced on the 8th that it will develop a digital “vaccine passport” to be issued to people who have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus so that they can submit it to relevant institutions when they travel to other countries.
The passport is expected to be launched on the website of the Ministry of Health in January.
However, the Danish Ministry of Health stressed that further investigation is needed to be conducted whether people who have been vaccinated will still be infected and the time frame for the vaccine to act as a protective role.
The Nordic country has implemented stricter restrictions starting this week, including lowering the maximum number of gatherings from the previous 10 to 5 people, and requiring 2 meters of social distancing in public places such as shops.
