It can bring back vacationers from the holidays
Tightening health restrictions in several regions of the world to avoid a second wave of "Covid-19"
Passers-by wearing face masks in Milan city center. EPA
Many countries, like South Korea, tighten restrictions and procedures at the borders, fearing a second wave of "Covid-19", which could be brought about by the return of vacationers from holidays, as is the case in Italy and Austria.
Yesterday, South Korea expanded the scope of its health restrictions in effect in the Seoul metropolitan area to cover its entire territory, closing beaches, restaurants, bars and museums, and imposing the holding of sporting events without an audience.
In the Asian country, which was among the first countries affected by the epidemic in the spring after China, 397 new cases of the emerging coronavirus were recorded yesterday, in the highest daily toll since the beginning of March.
"The situation is very dangerous and serious, because we are on the verge of a national epidemic," said Jung Yun-Kyung, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday.
The country has so far succeeded in containing the epidemic through a very advanced strategy based on conducting examinations and tracking the infected, without imposing isolation measures.
In Europe, the return of citizens from the holidays keeps countries on alert, as they fear the arrival of injured people from abroad.
The day before yesterday, Austria imposed strict health restrictions on the Slovenian border, which caused great crowding: Vacationers, especially the Germans and the Dutch, waited in some places until ten o'clock tonight.
Vienna talks about a continuous increase in the number of injuries on its soil, as tests showed that a third of vacationers had been infected a month ago upon their return from Croatia.
Since last Saturday, Austria has stopped every car coming from Slovenia to record the personal data of passengers, even those who only cross Austria heading to another country, with the aim of tracking the injured.
Italy, the first European country where the epidemic broke out, fears a second wave: the Rome region has recorded within 24 hours a record number of new infections since the beginning of the epidemic in March, and most of them are linked to the return from holidays.
It is especially indicated for the returnees from Sardinia in southern Italy, which survived the first wave of the virus, but the movement of tourists and non-careful revelers contributed to the return of the virus.
Italy is conducting checks on holidaymakers from this island on board ferries at the large port of Civitavecchia, 70 km north of Rome.
"On board the ferry, we were stacked like sardines," says Francesco Mazza, a 43-year-old video producer. "They did not reduce the carrying capacity of the ships nor increase their number."
In Germany, too, the number of new infections has increased sharply in recent days, due to the return of large numbers of German tourists after spending their vacations in areas where the virus is spreading abroad, according to the authorities.
In Ireland, the authorities decided this week to tighten restrictions on gatherings, with a maximum of six people in one closed space.
In this context, the Irish Prime Minister, Mitchell Martin, announced yesterday that he will call Parliament after a political scandal related to the Coronavirus, and he asked the European Commissioner for Irish Trade Phil Hogan to resign due to his involvement in it.
Hogan apologized for his participation in a dinner party last Wednesday evening, marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Parliament Golf Club, with 82 guests attending. It led to the resignation of a large number of officials, among them Agriculture Minister Dara Cagliari.
In Paris, French Health Minister Olivier Ferrand pointed out that the epidemic “did not stop spreading, and it was only controlled during the closure period and then during the phase of gradually lifting health restrictions,” stressing that after the measures that were imposed to combat the virus were canceled, The epidemic will return and spread again.
In the world, the epidemic has killed at least 805,470 people, and infected more than 23 million people in 196 countries and regions since the virus appeared in China in late December, according to a census prepared by Agence France-Presse.
And Latin America and the Caribbean are the regions most affected by the epidemic, as the virus has killed more than 257,469 people. More than half of the deaths from "Covid-19" in the world were recorded in four countries: the United States, Brazil, Mexico and India.
Latin America and the Caribbean are the regions most affected by the epidemic.
In Europe, the return of citizens from the holidays keeps countries on alert, as they fear the arrival of injured people from abroad.