Europe tightens virus restrictions as global death toll tops 1.3 million

VIENNA — A swathe of new restrictions to curtail a second wave of coronavirus infections are announced or come into force from Austria to Greece, Italy to Portugal as the global death toll climbs above 1.3 million.

More than 53 million have been infected worldwide by COVID-19, which is running rampant throughout America and Europe, forcing governments to take more drastic action despite the potential economic devastation.

Austria joins a growing trend announcing schools and non-essential shops would close from Tuesday, just two weeks after a partial lockdown was imposed.

“There are still many who say that infections don’t happen at school, in shops or services,” Chancellor Sebastien Kurtz tells a news conference.

“But the truth is the authorities can no longer trace 77 percent of new infections, which means they no longer know where contamination is happening.”

Greece, battling a saturated national health system, announces it will shut all schools after imposing a nationwide night curfew last night.

“Closing elementary schools was the last thing we wanted to do. This is a measure of how serious the situation is,” Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias says. Secondary schools had already been shuttered.

In Italy, the regions of Tuscany and Campania — of which Florence and Naples are the respective capitals — plunge into “red zones” of tough restrictions, which now cover 26 million of the 60 million population.

“There is no other way if we want to reduce the numbers of dead,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza sats, as the country’s death toll rises by 544 to 44,683, one of Europe’s worst.

New anti-virus curbs also come into force in Ukraine today, with all non-essential businesses ordered closed for the weekend.

And Lebanon enters a new two-week lockdown, with hospitals in the crises-wracked country almost at capacity.

— AFP