BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2020) With the coronavirus pandemic still raging across the world, some European countries � Spain, France, Belgium � express growing concerns about the resurgence of infections over the past few weeks.
Spain is in a critical situation with the worst contagion figures in Europe. So far, the country has confirmed as many as 326,612 infections, including 28,581 coronavirus-related fatalities, with 108 cases per 100,000 inhabitants against 28 in France and Belgium, 18 in the United Kingdom, 13 in Germany and 8 in Italy. Within the context, Spain ranks first in Western Europe and 11th in the world in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases.
France also sees a worsening situation with the multiplication of new clusters. On Tuesday, 1,397 new COVID-19 cases were detected in the country, which brought the overall number of infections to more than 204,100. Of those infected, 30,354 have died since the outbreak. Though France has so far ruled out a second nationwide lockdown as a major measure to curb a possible second wave of the virus amid a surge in the number of confirmed cases, regions and departments across the country have introduced the requirement to wear masks while outdoors.
With some countries, including the United Kingdom and Norway, having already reinstated a mandatory two-week quarantine for those arriving from Spain, more and more European nations are considering imposing the same measures on those coming from France and Belgium, where the number of infections has also been rising over the past week, with the mark of 50 infections per 100,000 people having been exceeded in some of 19 municipalities of the region.
GOVERNMENT MEASURES AMID WORSENING COVID-19 SITUATION
In a bid to prevent a full second wave of the coronavirus, governments across Europe are trying to stop the creeping propagation by increasing the testing capacity and being tougher with the official measures of social distancing and the wearing of masks.
In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez ordered discos and night bars to be closed once the pandemic was on the rise again in Catalonia starting mid-July even though the decision affects tourism. While the measure is gradually containing the resurgence of the pandemic in the region of Barcelona, the situation in the Basque country is getting aggravated, with the health authorities of the autonomous region announcing a second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak.
In France, Prime Minister Jean Castex, who was known for his opposition to confinement under the former government, is currently taking tough steps to curb the pandemic. In addition, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has presented an incredibly complicated plan of streets, where citizens are obliged to wear masks, which is far too difficult to apply, according to the country's media commentators. Local authorities even made mask-wearing mandatory for people while driving their car in the city.
In Belgium, after a riot on a beach in the town of Blankenberge last week, the local authorities and the Federal government have decided to ban the so-called one-day tourism � prohibit tourists from coming to the coast for one day. The measure is also believed to aim at the Brussels younger population that does not respect rules and does not wear masks while in public.
While there are multiple reasons for the continued propagation of the pandemic, the main one remains the attitude of the youth, fed up with confinement, that does not perceive the risks to themselves and their family, and organize private parties, binge drinking and other mass events, where the mask is not worn and the distancing norms are not respected.
Governments in most countries have taken some clear decisions. In particular, discos and dancing sites have been closed, football matches are played without the presence of the public, police forces patrol the streets to ensure everyone is wearing a protective mask.
However, when it comes to immigrant youth, the authorities seem paralyzed. A good example is France with its so-called lost territories of the republic, as they are known in the European country. In addition, when the organizers of Black Lives Matter demonstrations, such as the Paris march of Assa Traore, the sister of Adama Traore, a French man of African origin who died in police custody in 2016, do not take any notice of the new rules and police officers get instructions to not intervene, as the political power is paralyzed and afraid of being accused of racism.
Apart from protesters, French youngsters also ignore restrictions to curb the virus. In particular, in the department of Lozere in southern France, an outdoor party was organized in the Cevennes National Park, on private agricultural land, on Saturday and attended by some 15,000 young people from all over the country, who did not wear masks and ignored for two days the ban on gatherings of more than 5,000 people. Despite complaints, the local authorities did not intervene and only distributed alcohol solution and masks.
The events are accompanied by an increase in "incivility" � a word used by French President Emmanuel Macron to describe difficulties with some communities � since the start of the summer period. Among the most recent examples of the so-called incivility was the beating to death of a bus driver who had dared ask passengers to wear a mask, the killing of a policewoman and of a young girl walking her dog at night
Jean Michel Mostacci, the co-founder of the "Not everything is allowed in Palavas" group in the Palavas-les-Flots commune in Lozere, expressed his anger to Sputnik at what happened since the start of the summer season � urban rodeos, insults, attacks from young people from the nearby cities, such as Montpellier � as they all "act in impunity"
"We organize small demonstrations and provide our support to our municipal police and our gendarmerie so that they can obtain reinforcements during the season. We are seeing these crimes explode. We sent the information back to the prefet [head] of the department so that he really obtains gendarmerie (national police) and police reinforcements," Mostacci said.
At the same time, the co-founder said that tourists were welcome as long as they respected local residents.
"The Palavasians are insecure and intimidated, the women are insulted. Insecurity has grown since June," Mostacci noted.
Meanwhile, a French member of the European Parliament, Jean-Lin Lacapelle, told Sputnik that the spread of the virus was slowed down by the application of social distancing measures. According to the lawmaker, the problem is that the government is taking contradictory decisions and operates in the most complete improvisation. The French authorities first said that "mouth masks were useless," and then claimed that they might be worn "everywhere and all the time."
"They practice a two-tier justice and are afraid of the so-called 'sensitive' neighbourhoods, populated by allochtones [foreigners] mostly. The government wants social peace at all costs and is not firm with the 'racaille' (scum). It applies double standards; the government attacks the weak (the good people who respect the law) and turns a blind eye to the strong (the people who do not respect any instructions)," Lacapelle said.
According to the lawmaker, this government keeps nightclubs closed, imposes strict rules on restaurants but turns a blind eye to parties bringing together hundreds of young people on the beaches. Lacapelle slammed the government response to the pandemic, as compared to other countries it is insufficient. Within the context, he noted that he was tested four times when he went to Crimea.
