COVID-19 UPDATE: EUROPE SURPASSES 25M COVID CASES, LONDON “MAY RUN OUT OF BEDS”

COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Last updated: January 07, 2021, 17:54 GMT

Israel prepared for a two-week shutdown

In Israel, the government prepared for a two-week shutdown as the country’s infection rate soars.

Israel’s government has finalized a series of strict lockdown measures as the country’s infection rate has soared in recent weeks.

For two weeks starting Thursday night, Israeli schools and all non-essential businesses will shut down, gatherings will be restricted to five persons indoors and 10 outdoors, and movement and travel abroad restricted.

London “may run out of beds” in next few days, mayor says

London “may run out of beds” in the “next few days” due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in the capital, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Thursday.

Khan, when asked by LBC Radio if Covid-19 was “out of control” in London, said: “Yes. This virus is out of control.” He added: “The NHS is on the cusp of being overwhelmed. There has been no time during this pandemic where I’ve been more concerned than I am today.”

 Lebanon 25-day nationwide lockdown

Lebanon began a 25-day nationwide lockdown today to limit the spread of the coronavirus as infections hit a record in the tiny Mediterranean nation and patients overwhelm the health care sector.

The lockdown in Lebanon is the third since the first case was reported in late February. It closes most businesses and limits traffic by imposing an odd and even license plate rule on alternating days. It also reduces the number of flights at the country’s only international airport.

As of Thursday, a daily 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew takes effect that will last until Feb. 1.

Germany might face much longer lockdown

Germany faces the risk of a much longer coronavirus lockdown if the federal states do not consistently implement tougher restrictions, especially in light of a highly contagious new variant, an aide to Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.

Helge Braun, head of Merkel’s office, told Reuters in an interview:

With every relaxation now, the likelihood of even longer necessary restrictions is greater and greater.

Like many other European countries, Germany is struggling to contain a second wave of the virus.

Remote learning for secondary schools in Hungary

Hungary is proposing to extend remote learning for secondary schools beyond next Monday due to high coronavirus infections and uncertainties over a new variant of the virus that first emerged in the UK, a state secretary said.

Zoltan Maruzsa said prime minister Viktor Orbán’s government would make a decision about the extension on Friday, adding that classroom teaching in secondary schools was unlikely to resume next week.

State of emergency announced for Japan’s capital Tokyo

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency for the country’s capital Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures at a government task force meeting Thursday. 

The state of emergency will go into effect for Tokyo and the prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa from Friday until February 2, Suga said.

This comes after Japan reported its highest daily increase of Covid-19 cases from Wednesday.

Protest against lockdown in Senegalese capital

Youths protesting a coronavirus curfew clashed with security forces overnight in the Senegalese capital, burning tyres and erecting barricades as police fired tear gas in Dakar’s Ngor district, an AFP photographer has reported.

Incidents were also reported in other parts of the capital overnight on Wednesday.

President Macky Sall called a state of emergency on Wednesday as he imposed a curfew from 9pm to 5am in Dakar and one other region of the West African country.

Dakar and the Thies region account for nearly 90% of Covid-19 infections, according to health authorities.

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