BOCHNIA, Poland (PA) – European countries rushed on Monday to reduce the increase in COVID-19 cases and step up vaccinations, hoping hospitals would not be overwhelmed by the latest deadly wave of pandemic infections.
The crushing of coronavirus patients has been incessant for hospitals in Poland, where new daily infections have reached records of over 35,000 in the past two days and the government has ordered new restrictions to prevent large gatherings over the long Easter weekend. The French health minister warned that the number of patients in intensive care units could correspond to the levels of a year ago.
But in a sign of disparities from one country to another, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that barbershops, gyms and outdoor bar and restaurant terraces could open next week after the country reported progress on vaccines and its recent blockade. Meanwhile, the US vaccination campaign has continued to accelerate, with 40% of the nation’s adult population receiving at least one dose.
On Sunday, coronavirus patients filled almost all of the 120 beds at Bochnia County Hospital, 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the southern city of Krakow. One patient, 82-year-old Edward Szumanski, expressed concern that some people still refuse to see the virus, which has killed more than 2.8 million people worldwide as a threat. About 55,000 of these deaths took place in Poland.
“The disease is definitely there and it is very serious. Those who have not gone through this, those who do not have it in their family, can deceive themselves, but the reality is different “, he said.
The more contagious and aggressive virus variant identified in the UK fuels much of the growth in Europe. Meanwhile, voters in many countries are upset by the European Union’s strategy, but also by the way their governments manage the pandemic and the failure to prevent the repeated growth of infections.
French Health Minister Olivier Veran warned on Monday that the number of COVID-19 patients in the country’s intensive care units could match the level of the first crisis a year ago. Speaking on TF1 television, he said the country may be approaching the saturation levels of the ICU since April 2020, when French ICUs had more than 7,000 patients with the virus, many of whom were in temporary facilities as demand exceeded much pre-pandemic ICU capacity.
Veran expressed hope that France’s new infections could peak this week thanks to new partial blockade measures. After long resisting calls for a new blockade, the French government closed schools and closed all non-essential stores nationwide and imposed travel restrictions for four weeks.
“We’ll do it,” Veran said.
The British government announced on Monday that all adults and children will be able to have routine coronavirus tests twice a week as a way to eliminate new outbreaks. The tests are introduced as Johnson announces the next steps in the country’s roadmap outside of its three-month blockade.
The UK has recorded almost 127,000 deaths from coronavirus, the largest number in Europe. But both infections and deaths have fallen sharply during the blockade and since the start of a vaccination campaign that has so far given a first dose to more than 31 million people, or 6 out of 10 adults.
Authorities in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, have introduced stricter blocking restrictions following a recent rise in virus cases. All schools in the city of 3 million people will be closed for the next two weeks, and only people with special permits will be allowed on public transport.
“The hospitals are almost full. The situation is difficult, “said Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Elsewhere, northern Macedonia has delayed mass immunization amid a shortage of vaccines as its hospitals fill up with new infections and record COVID-19 deaths last week.
In Greece, which is struggling to emerge from a deep recession, most retail stores have been given permission to reopen Monday, despite continued growth in COVID-19 infections. The lock-in measures have been in place since early November, although stores were briefly opened during the Christmas season. Prolonged closures have put pressure on the economy.
Serbia has also eased measures against coronavirus, despite the high number of infections and the slowdown in vaccinations. The government on Monday allowed bars and restaurants to serve guests outside with reduced capacity and in compliance with the rules of social distance.
In the US, a top public health official said young people are leading the latest increase in COVID-19 cases, as the rising vaccination rate among older Americans prevents the worst cases among the elderly.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cited the growing prevalence of variants, as well as an increase in youth sports and extracurricular activities as contributing factors to the steady increase in cases over the past four weeks.
But Walensky pointed out the positive developments among the elderly, who are the most vulnerable age group. Deaths from senior viruses have dropped to their lowest level since early fall. More than 75% of those aged 65 or over nationally have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and almost 55% are fully vaccinated.
“What we are seeing is both a decrease in visits to emergency services and hospitalizations associated with that demographic,” she said Monday.
More than 23% of all adults in the United States are completely vaccinated, according to the CDC.
Many states make vaccines available to the younger population. As of Monday, any Florida adult is eligible to receive the vaccine. In addition, the state announced that 16- and 17-year-olds could also receive the vaccine with parental permission.
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Charlton reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Michael Kunzelman of College Park, Maryland; Jill Lawless in London; Zeke Miller of Washington; Yuras Karmanau in Kiev, Ukraine; Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia; Konstantin Testorides in Skopje, Northern Macedonia; Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece; and Costas Kantouris from Thessaloniki, Greece, contributed to this report.