Coronavirus in the world: Europe is rebuilding its anti-Covid defenses

The Indian variant “Delta” makes governments fear a new runaway from the Covid-19 epidemic, which has already killed four million people worldwide and could force a new turn of the screw at the start of the school year. The European Diseases Agency (ECDC) predicts a strong rebound in the number of cases, with nearly five times as many new cases by August 1. The number of hospitalizations and deaths should however increase less rapidly, according to the ECDC, thanks to vaccines.

Covid tests of less than 24 hours

In Greece, Mykonos, the party island, will have to stop dancing from 1 a.m., the day after the imposition of a similar night curfew in Catalonia (Spain).

France, for its part, has imposed Covid tests less than 24 hours old on unvaccinated travelers from the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece and the Netherlands since midnight on Saturday. Until now tests of 72 hours were accepted, except for those coming from the United Kingdom who had to present a test of less than 48 hours.

While contamination is rising rapidly under the effect of the Indian variant “Delta”, the wearing of a mask outdoors is also making a comeback in certain regions of eastern and south-western France.

Demonstrations against the “dictatorship”

The tightening of health measures announced last Monday by President Emmanuel Macron – extension of the health pass in particular to shops, restaurants, places of culture, planes or trains, as well as the obligation to vaccinate for certain professions – has aroused the anger of some Population. Several processions marched on Saturday in Paris and in several large cities to denounce the “dictatorship“sanitary and measures”liberticides”. However, the latter are accepted by a very large majority of French people, according to a poll published last Tuesday.

On the other hand, in the United Kingdom – one of the most affected countries in Europe with 128,600 dead – where the number of contaminations has been climbing for weeks (more than 54,000 cases on Saturday), the government is preparing to lift this Monday – called “Freedom Day” – almost all restrictions (including mask-wearing and social distancing), according to a long-established plan. The Prime Minister prefers to rely on the “individual responsibility » of each one.

London removes restrictions

Prime Minister Boris Johnson (like his finance minister Rishi Sunak) is himself a contact case. Both leaders will have to self-isolate – but only when they are not working as they take part in a pilot scheme, Downing Street announced on Sunday. Health Minister Sajid Javid said on Saturday he tested positive.

At the same time, London says it is worried about the “lingering presence” in France of the South African Beta variant and subjects those who come to quarantine even if they are vaccinated. This variant is present in the French overseas territory of Reunion, but very minor in mainland France.

In the Pacific, Australian authorities ordered new restrictions on Saturday, as several weeks of confinement in Sidney failed to prevent a resurgence of the pandemic.

In addition to tourist places, large gatherings raise fears of a runaway epidemic. Five days before the opening of the Olympic Games, the organizers detected two infected athletes in the Olympic Village, after announcing the day before the first positive case, a member of the management.

The annual pilgrimage to Mecca opened on Saturday, but is restricted to a quota of 60,000 participants, only Saudis and foreigners residing in the kingdom duly vaccinated; 2.5 million pilgrims came in 2019.

We would never have eradicated smallpox

In the United States, which had taken the lead, the vaccination campaign is bogged down, failing to convince the most recalcitrant. On Saturday, White House anti-Covid adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said on CNN: “If we had had the rejection of vaccines that we see in some media, I don’t think it would have been possible to eradicate smallpox”. And the immunologist adds: “We’d probably still have smallpox, and we’d probably still have polio in this country, if we had the kind of misinformation that’s going around right now.”.

Social networks “kill people”

The day before, President Joe Biden had accused the big social media operators of “kill people” by spreading false information about vaccines. Facebook had brushed off these criticisms, bragging instead of “save lives” with measures that allow its users to have better access to the vaccine.

Smallpox, which claimed an estimated 300 million lives in the 20th century, more than armed conflicts, was declared officially eradicated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1980 thanks to the global vaccination effort undertaken after the Second World War.

Poliomyelitis, officially eradicated since August 2020 from Africa thanks to the vaccine, is resisting in Asia, Pakistan and Afghanistan where this disease remains endemic. The failure of vaccination campaigns can be explained in particular by the mistrust of rural populations and the belief in conspiracy theories against Muslims.