Countries in Europe are now bracing for a second wave of coronavirus infections after a number of cities announced they were experiencing spikes in the number of positive coronavirus tests, The Guardian reported Monday.
The United States appears to be in the midst of a second wave of the virus, with states that largely avoided high numbers of coronavirus infections in March, April, and May — including Florida, Arizona, and Texas — now experiencing “peaks” in the number of positive cases of the virus.
European countries, as recently as last Monday, were preparing to roll back coronavirus-related restrictions even further, with indications that many countries within the European Union were experiencing few if any new incidents of COVID-19.
That changed late last week after countries from Belgium to France began noticing a distinct uptick in coronavirus infections as Europeans, who have been on holiday much of this month, prepare to return to their home countries.
“The Belgian government has warned that country could be put into a second ‘complete lockdown’ following a significant spike in infections, while the Spanish region of Catalonia may also have to reintroduce lockdown measures if outbreaks are not brought under control within 10 days,” the outlet reported. “In France, the health minister has called for greater vigilance after a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in young people, and Germany’s public health advisory body has said it is ‘deeply concerned’ about the rise in cases over the past few weeks.”
France, Germany, and the United Kingdom also experienced large protests, taking governments to task for what demonstrators claim are “racist” policies as part of a global response to the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police.
The Guardian notes that there has been a 71% increase in new cases in Belgium. In Spain’s Catalonia region, officials ordered bars closed as around 6,000 new cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed, making Catalonia the epicenter of Spain’s coronavirus pandemic.
The BBC reports that Spain is actually fueling fears of a coronavirus uptick across Europe because of the number of holiday locations currently affected.
“The UK says all returning from Spain must self-isolate,” the British outlet reported Monday. “Norway has similar rules and France has a travel warning. France and Germany have also both seen new cases rise, as nations grapple between staving off fresh outbreaks and reopening economies.”
The BBC notes that, contrary to assumptions, Europe may be experiencing a worldwide phenomenon: “The European rises are echoed in far bigger increases across the rest of the globe, with record daily new-infection figures of around 280,000 in both of the past two days.”
India appears to be driving much of the global increase, with an assist from the United States, Brazil, and South Africa, all of which are experiencing a significant rise in new infections.