Several European Union countries are recording major new case counts that have prompted leaders to reinstate restrictions on movement and businesses.
Italy, one of the world’s first coronavirus hot spots, recorded its highest daily case count Wednesday since the pandemic began, with 7,332 new cases. The previous record was set on March 21, with about 6,600 cases.
Meanwhile, Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa declared the country will enter a “state of calamity” at midnight Wednesday, giving the government more authority to enact restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Some of those restrictions include limiting gathering sizes in public, including in restaurants, to five people. Celebrations, such as weddings and baptisms, will be limited to a maximum of 50 guests.
Costa added that authorities will increase surveillance and enforcement of these rules in public places, increasing fines for up to 10,000 euros for businesses who do not enforce the rules. He made a point of differentiating the “state of calamity” from the “state of emergency” enacted in the spring ahead of a national lockdown. This time, borders will remain open.
In France, President Emmanuel Macron announced a mandatory curfew in the capital and eight other cities Wednesday, to last from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. every day for the next four weeks. The curfew goes into effect on Saturday.
“We’re in a second wave,” Macron said in a televised interview. “We have to react.”
Some of the restrictions as part of the curfew include restricting traffic during curfew hours to emergencies and people working, limiting gatherings to six people, and more. Authorities will be able to impose fines ranging from 135 euros for first offenders to 1,500 euros for repeat offenders.
Catalonia, the northeastern region of Spain where Barcelona is located, will shut down bars and restaurants for two weeks to contain a surge in new cases. Other government-imposed restrictions include limiting shop and market capacities to 30%, religious gatherings to 50% capacity, and social gatherings to six people.
Hospitalizations are up in Catalonia to 984 after an increase of over 100 in two days. The figure had not exceeded 810 for two months up until October. The number of people in ICUs at once has also risen to 172. While the figures are far below the peak seen in the spring of 1,529 people in the ICU at once, government officials are calling the increases “extremely worrying.”
The 27 countries of the European Union and the United Kingdom have now surpassed the United States in terms of new cases per million for the first time since the spring, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The combined number of cases in Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, and the U.K. is about 2.9 million, a total dwarfed by the U.S. case count that is approaching 7.9 million. Deaths in the U.S. have surpassed 216,400.
Former Harvard Medical School scientist and prominent HIV/AIDS researcher William Haseltine has called “herd immunity” for the coronavirus “another word for mass murder.”
Haseltine appeared on CNN on Wednesday to discuss the current coronavirus surge and the White House’s possible adoption of herd immunity as a strategy for the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m extremely concerned that the president is being advised by people who speak of herd immunity,” said Haseltine, who is currently the president of the nonprofit group ACCESS Health International. “Herd immunity is another word for mass murder.”
Trump administration officials have embraced the “Great Barrington Statement,” a plan to let people who are less vulnerable to COVID-19, particularly the young, build up immunity through infection, according to the New York Times. Protecting more vulnerable populations from infection, such as the sick and elderly, would be the main aim of public health measures.
First lady Melania Trump revealed Wednesday that Barron Trump, her and President Trump’s 14-year-old son, tested positive for the coronavirus. He has since tested negative. “Luckily, he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms,” the first lady said.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that he did not expect another round of economic stimulus to be enacted before Election Day as he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continue to struggle to reach a compromise.
“At this point, getting something done before the election and executing on that will be difficult,” Mnuchin said at the Milken Institute Global Conference Wednesday.
Mnuchin and Pelosi will resume talks on Thursday.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatened to withhold funding to local jurisdictions that neglect to enforce coronavirus restrictions and business shutdowns as the state tries to quell surges in new coronavirus cases.
“Hopefully, that will motivate them,” Cuomo said Wednesday.
Tuesday evening, the Labor Department announced that Patricia Scalia, wife of Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, had tested positive for COVID-19. Scalia and his wife were at the Rose Garden event where the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court was announced. At least 35 staff members of the White House have tested positive, many of whom were at that event.
Two Illinois churches on Wednesday appealed to the Supreme Court in a lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s coronavirus restrictions on church capacity during services, arguing that they violated the First Amendment’s free exercise clause by “discriminating against religious gatherings” while allowing exemptions to businesses and protests. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals already ruled against the churches, but attorneys argue that because that ruling conflicts with other favorable rulings handed down to churches, the Supreme Court must intervene.
