Germany, France gear up for new lockdowns as virus surges, but death rates are not rising as fast

Germany, France gear up for new lockdowns as virus surges BERLIN (AP) — Germany and France got ready to face new lockdowns Wednesday, as governments sought to stop a fast-rising tide of coronavirus cases sweeping the continent. The World Health... AP NEWS

BERLIN (AP) — Germany and France got ready to face new lockdowns Wednesday, as governments sought to stop a fast-rising tide of coronavirus cases sweeping the continent.

The World Health Organization says the European region — which according to its definition includes Russia, Turkey, Israel and Central Asia — accounted for almost half of the 2.8 million new coronavirus cases reported globally last week. The U.N. health agency said virus-related deaths were also on the rise in Europe, with about a 35% spike since the previous week, and that hospitalizations and ICU occupancy due to COVID-19 were increasing.

“We are deep in the second wave,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels. “I think that this year’s Christmas will be a different Christmas.”

The European Union, Britain, Norway, Switzerland and Iceland alone accounted for 1.1 million cases over the past seven days, she said, “and we expect this number to keep rising in the next two to three weeks, and rapidly.”

In France, more than half of the country’s intensive care units are already occupied by COVID-19 patients. French military and commercial planes are ferrying critically ill virus patients to other regions as hospitals fill up and French doctors have called on the government to impose a new nationwide lockdown.

France reported 288 new virus-related deaths in hospitals in 24 hours Tuesday and 235 deaths in nursing homes over the previous four days. Both figures marked the biggest such rise since May. ...

Overall, Europe has seen more than 250,000 virus-related deaths since the start of the outbreak, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Britain and the Czech Republic have also seen a surge in new cases over the past 14 days, while infections rates in Germany were lower but climbing steadily. ...

Also see:Covid-19 deaths aren't rising as fast in Europe and US, despite soaring new infections. That doesn't mean the virus is less deadly

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/28/europe/coronavirus-death-rate-second-wave-lower-intl/index.html