The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating effect on the health care systems of the European Union member states as the number of infections and hospitalizations, as well as the coronavirus-related death toll, is rising
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th November, 2020) The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating effect on the health care systems of the European Union member states as the number of infections and hospitalizations, as well as the coronavirus-related death toll, is rising.
Even Germany is reaching its limit, as several other EU countries, including Belgium, France and the Netherlands, are sending their coronavirus-positive patients to German hospitals.
In France, the intensive care capacity of hospitals is at 92.5 percent and the number of hospitalizations is still increasing, though at a little lower rate.
"The second wave is not at peak yet," French Health Minister Olivier Veran has said during a speech in the parliament.
Peter Kraus, an operator of emergency services and the St. Marien-Hospital in Germany's Cologne, told Sputnik that the facility is running out of free beds.
"There are only 12 beds left for COVID-19 patients, since we need to keep some beds for all other diseases or emergency cases such as car crashes, strokes or pulmonary embolisms. We are coming to full capacity and will not be able to welcome patients from outside anymore," Kraus said.
The number of coronavirus-positive patients in ICU units in Germany has tripled over the past two weeks, meaning that Berlin may soon halt transfers of patients from abroad. Even in well-organized Germany, the main issue is the lack of doctors and nurses.
The situation is similar in many other countries, from Sweden to Spain and Portugal. The lack of capacity and staff in hospitals remains the main issue.
Usually, a person is hospitalized 10 days after a contraction of COVID-19. Then a patient may spend weeks in the ICU unit if required. During these weeks, more patients may arrive.
"During the first wave, it was emotionally very difficult to work, under permanent enormous stress, knowing that a person you looked in the eye and tried to reassure would be on a machine the next day and dead the day after. For turning patients over, you need to be 4 or 5 [staff], so it is non-stop running from one room to another, not even going home at night for fear of contaminating your family," Alice De Neyts, a nurse at the St. Peter's hospital in Brussels, told Sputnik.
The nurse also said that many doctors and healthcare personnel and "psychologically exhausted" and that she is fearing that the health system may break up.
"We need more doctors and nurses, but where could we find them? No time for training ... The only hope is that the population understands that they have to protect themselves to protect others, and hope that we will be able to get through the peak of this second wave. We might be there already," De Neyts said.
Meanwhile, the National Doctors' Association in Italy has warned that there will not enough doctors to treat all COVID-19 patients in the near future if the infection rate stays the same.
Filippo Anelli, the association's president, has said during a press conference that the lack of doctors and nurses is a bigger problem than the lack of ICU beds. In particular, Anelli said that the number of anaesthesiologists in Italy is not enough.
To address the issue of lack of healthcare personnel, the Netherlands and Belgium have trained over 1,000 workers each since the end of the summer. France also has said that some 7,000 people have been trained to respond to the pandemic.
The virus is spreading fast in large countries like Italy, Germany and France. The infection rate is also high on the regional level, as more and more so-called red zones appear.
There have been violent demonstrations in many EU countries due to re-imposed lockdown measures and their effects on the economy. Self-employed people and business owners, among others, have demonstrated against COVID-19 restrictions. The situation is becoming more difficult as many businesses might lose the opportunities to profit from Christmas shopping and Black Friday.
Jean Dupas, a toy shop owner from France, told Sputnik that the situation is dramatic.
"For me, it is the end of the road if I cannot reopen my shop in December! I will not survive financially. The government help is a trickle compared to the fixed costs, paying for the new stocks of toys, even if some of my suppliers have accepted delays in payment. The St Nicolas - Christmas - New Year period represents more than 50 percent of my yearly turnover. I do not sleep anymore," Dupas said.
The shop owner also said that he will need to fire five employees if France keeps the restrictions on businesses in December.
"If the government does not let us open in December, I will die and I will first have to fire my five employees. Even if the epidemic is still at very high level, they should allow people to forget about their worries and pamper their kids during that celebration period. They can re-confine the population in January if needed, but they can not kill the economy!" Dupas said.
Many small shops have tried to create their own websites to sell their products online to be able to compete with giants like Amazon, whose turnover has skyrocketed since the beginning of the global health crisis.
Amazon has benefited as total e-commerce sales nearly doubled since May. At the same time, Amazon sells and delivers products from local small shoppers that rely on its services.
Andree Chenier, an owner of several clothing shops in Brussels, told Sputnik that she is actively selling via Amazon, adding that the system is "not ideal."
"Yes, I sell a good part of my clothing on Amazon, nearly a third of my total sales, but I pay for it! There is a monthly fee of about 40 Euros [$47] and they take a percentage of about 30% on each item sold via the platform. You actually become fully dependent upon it. It is not ideal. With several other shops, we are thinking of launching our own local platform and proposing our products together to all our customers, hoping to enlarge our customer base through word of mouth," Chenier said.
Jean-Luc Gala, a renowned Belgian professor and practitioner of medicine with a focus on infectious diseases, told Sputnik that a surge in the COVID-19 infection rate in Europe is linked to several factors, including summer holidays and the end of first lockdowns.
"The violent resurgence of the epidemic that is seen all over Europe is due to several factors. There is the slow transmission of the virus by young people who returned from too carefree vacations this summer, but there is also the end of the lockdown and the return to work of many people in companies, the reopening of schools and universities. with face-to-face lessons," Gala said.
The professor also noted that the majority of young people who contract COVID19 are asymptomatic.
"There is also the fact that the large majority of infected people are asymptomatic, young and less young. Add cross-border travel, for tourism or for business, which is not prohibited and you have the cocktail that revived the epidemic," Gala added.
According to the expert, the EU countries failed to learn lessons of the first lockdowns. In addition, the professor linked the ongoing deteriorating health crisis with the climate factor.
"I wouldn't speak of the second wave. This is the first flaring up again, since we did not take advantage of the lockdown to better understand the circulation of the virus. When you discover the clusters, they are already huge and it is too late. And then there is the climatic factor: the virus was nothing more than background noise this summer during the heatwave. The cold of the season now promotes the dispersion of aerosols, people cough. The pandemic is back," Gala said.
Moreover, the expert called for consistency with introducing COVID-19 restrictions but confirmed that the issue is challenging.
"Should we reopen shops and restaurants at all costs for the end of the year celebrations? Difficult question ... We must avoid the game of yoyo, with deconfinement, re-containment ... Let's take advantage of the lull that should take shape now to make a massive educational effort, while giving people freedom in December, to save the economy," the professor said.
Gala also said that a vaccine against the coronavirus will be a part of the solution "hopefully" from the first half of the next year. At the same time, the expert warned that the potential vaccine may be less effective for elderly people who have weaker immunity.
