FRANCE: French experts say Europe risks being hit with further waves of infections next year if no vaccine is found, as the continent scrambles to cope with a second deadly spike in Covid-19 cases.
As an AFP tally shows that more than 11 million cases have been reported in Europe, EU Council chief Charles Michel says he will convene a new videoconference summit of EU leaders on November 19 to discuss the bloc’s response to the pandemic.
Antigen tests, which give far quicker results than classic PCR tests but are less reliable, are being rolled out in Liverpool and in Slovakia.
Slovakia is going to test its entire population of 5.4 million people, with the badly-hit northern English city also aiming to test all its inhabitants. The ex-Soviet country registers a record daily number of 8,899 infections and its health minister Maksym Stepanov tells lawmakers: “We have passed the point of no return and are on the brink of disaster... the worst is yet to come”.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says the Netherlands will close its museums, cinemas, sex clubs and other public places for two weeks.
The closure will affect some of the world’s most popular attractions including Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum, home to masterpieces from Dutch masters like Rembrandt.
The virus has claimed at least 1,206,525 lives worldwide since it first emerged late last year, according to an AFP tally on Tuesday.
More than 46,958,530 cases have been registered across the globe.
The United States remains the most affected country, with 231,566 deaths. The countries with the next-highest death tolls are Brazil with 160,253, India with 123,097, and Mexico with 92,100.
Lebanon is weighing a second nationwide lockdown with Austria and Greece imposing curfews and further restrictions.
California mayors appeal to the state’s governor to ease curbs that have shut theme parks such as Disneyland, warning that hundreds of thousands of jobs are at stake.- AFP
