Dublin (AFP)

Restrictive measures are multiplying in Europe in the face of the resurgence of the coronavirus: partial confinement enters into force Thursday in the Czech Republic and a curfew is established in two Italian regions while Ireland was reconfigured Wednesday evening.

And hope for an effective vaccine was clouded by the death of a volunteer in Brazil.

The latter had participated in the tests of the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford against Covid-19 in Brazil, official sources announced on Wednesday, without specifying whether he had received the vaccine or a placebo.

This is the first death of a volunteer taking part in testing for one of the many ongoing vaccine trials around the world.

But Oxford assured that phase 3 of the tests of this vaccine developed with the AstraZeneca laboratory would continue, an independent committee having concluded that they did not present a risk for the health of the volunteers.

The deceased Brazilian has been identified by several media as a 28-year-old doctor who was on the front lines of the fight against the pandemic.

He would have died of complications related to Covid-19.

He worked in two hospitals in Rio de Janeiro and had graduated from medical school last year.

Some 20,000 volunteers took part in these tests in several countries, including 8,000 in Brazil.

Faced with the resurgence of the virus, Europe is closing itself more and more, like the Czech Republic where the government has announced restrictions on the movement of people as well as the closure of shops and services to intensify the battle against illness, from Thursday until November 3.

All outlets, except food stores and pharmacies, will be closed from Thursday until November 3.

The restrictive measures come as the Czechs counted by far the highest number of new cases and deaths per 100,000 inhabitants on Tuesday, calculated over the previous two weeks.

- Curfew in Lombardy and Campania -

In two Italian regions, Lombardy, the northern region most affected by the pandemic, and Campania to the south where Naples is located, we are preparing to put in place another measure to deal with the new outbreak of Covid-19 cases : curfew.

This will be in effect in Lombardy from Thursday, from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., for three weeks.

The President of Campania, Vincenzo De Luca, announced the start of the curfew for Friday 11:00 p.m. in this region of southern Italy.

He did not specify at what time in the morning he would be up or the duration of this measure.

Italy has seen a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases since Friday, with more than 10,000 patients per day, and Lombardy, where Milan is located, is the most affected, as it had been at the start of the pandemic, in February and March.

Campania is too, but with a less efficient health system than that of Lombardy, it is in a more difficult position.

In Ireland, the toughest measures came into force overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, at 11:00 p.m. GMT, with re-containment.

In the hope of "celebrating Christmas properly", in the words of Prime Minister Micheal Martin, the Irish are under house arrest for six weeks, but schools will remain open.

In Ireland and Wales, non-essential businesses will close.

The Irish will only be able to leave their homes to exercise within a three-mile radius, under penalty of fines.

The situation also continues to worsen in Spain, which has become the first member of the EU, and the sixth country in the world, to pass the milestone of one million cases of coronavirus.

Faced with the resurgence of cases, the Spanish authorities had to urgently impose new restrictions, with the partial closure of a dozen new towns and certain regions, in addition to Madrid and eight neighboring municipalities, already reconfigured in part.

- Poland wants to tighten its restrictions -

The pandemic has killed at least 1,126,465 people around the world since the end of December, including more than 254,300 in Europe, according to a report established by AFP on Wednesday.

More than 40,856,210 cases of infection have been diagnosed.

The United States is the most affected country in terms of both deaths and cases, with at least 221,930 deaths, followed by Brazil (155,403 dead), India (115,914), Mexico (86,993) and the United Kingdom. Uni (43.967).

Poland could also be affected by a tightening of restrictions, according to the will of its Prime Minister who has declared that he wishes to extend to the whole country the restrictions which entered into force last week on almost half of the territory, proclaimed "red zone ", in the face of a surge in coronavirus cases.

"I will recommend that from Saturday all of Poland be considered a + red zone +", Mateusz Morawiecki told the private channel Polsat TV, shortly before a crisis meeting which is to decide on such measures.

© 2020 AFP