BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th June, 2020) After more than three months of COVID-19 social distancing measures, many countries in Europe have already taken steps to gradually begin reopening their borders and allowing businesses to resume activities, although experts told Sputnik that this could trigger a second wave of the pandemic unless stringent hygiene measures are observed.
Countries across Europe have been looking for ways to relax the lockdown, in order to resume domestic and international business. In the central part of the continent, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia have already removed the bulk of their border restrictions with neighboring countries, and others on the continent are looking to follow suit.�
For countries such as Spain, Italy, and Greece, whose economies are heavily reliant on tourism, governments are looking at establishing tourist corridors or permitting citizens from other EU member states to arrive.
In Spain, where tourism accounts for 15 percent of GDP, tourists from the UK and other EU member states have been allowed from Sunday to arrive without the need to spend time in self-isolation, in a move that hopes to bring respite to a beleaguered industry.�
It remains to be seen if the chase for profit to ensure economic security will outweigh the epidemiological risks posed by lifting the lockdowns.
WHO OFFICIAL SAYS EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SITUATION IN EUROPE WORSENING
The COVID-19 outbreak quickly spread to Europe after first emerging in China. In February and March, the disease rapidly gained a foothold in Spain and Italy. These two countries became two of the main epicenters of the outbreak on the continent, eventually followed by the United Kingdom.
Governments across Europe reacted to the outbreak by declaring emergency measures and enforcing lockdowns in March. These efforts had a major effect, as the rate of transmission began to subside.
The slowing pace of the outbreak has allowed governments to gradually start easing social distancing measures. Non-essential shops were first allowed to open, then sports facilities, restaurants, and gyms. The next step is permitting foreign travel, although this may prove difficult given the varying pace of the outbreak across the continent.
One result of the easing of lockdown measures across Europe has been an uptick in the number of new cases, the World Health Organization's (WHO) regional director for Europe Hans Kluge said on Thursday.
"For weeks I have spoken about the risk of resurgence as countries adjust measures. In several countries across Europe, this risk has now become a reality - 30 countries have seen increases in new cumulative cases over the past two weeks," Kluge remarked.
The WHO official warned that if European countries fail to take action, the outbreak could once again spiral out of control.
The latest development in Europe's COVID-19 outbreak has seen the disease appear in isolated clusters, such as at a meat processing factory in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which has left more than 1,500 Toennies employees infected. In response to this outbreak, stringent lockdown measures were reintroduced in two counties in the state.
In France, more than 230 isolated clusters of COVID-19 have been identified across the country over recent weeks, and while the government says the situation is under control, many citizens remain concerned.
Dr. Jean Ruelle, an academic at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven's Microbiology Institute in Belgium, told Sputnik that despite the growth in localized clusters, it was premature to fear a prolonged second wave, given the rapid increase in testing capacity on the continent.
"There is no reason to fear a rapid return of COVID-19 now, provided that we continue the effective strategy of large-scale testing to detect any new outbreak of fire, as the firefighters would say. The situation is favorable for the start of the summer vacation. The number of cases is limited and the clusters well-identified and contained," Ruelle commented.
A localized response to tackle the outbreak of coronavirus disease clusters will likely prevent the disease from spreading once again in Europe's major cities, the academic added.
"The German case of this slaughterhouse, where the number of cases is very large, is very specific and local confinement will most likely overcome it .. In Belgium, the Netherlands, France, or Germany, large regions have not had a single case for about two weeks," Ruelle stated.
A safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19 is not expected to enter widespread usage until the start of 2021, meaning that governments are treading a fine line between restarting the economy and slowing the outbreak.
Given the latest attempts to revive key industries, such as tourism and hospitality, there is a real threat that Europe's case totals and death tolls will continue to rise, Professor Marc Van Ranst, a virologist at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and member of the Belgian Security Council, told Sputnik.
"I have warned that there is a great danger of seeing a resurgence of the pandemic. Large demonstrations of 10,000 people tolerated, deconfinement with people coming together again, the reopening of cafes, cinemas, and theaters, it is all very well, but we see that people have a false sense of security. No, the pandemic is not finished, and re-confinement would be perceived as a catastrophe if and when it is reintroduced," Van Ranst said.
The academic added that while the overall risk of community transmission was lower, given that the warm summer weather will mean that fewer people are likely to remain indoors, the resumption of international travel could trigger more cases.
"The fact that it is summer and people are outside more, on restaurant terraces and in gardens, makes it less dangerous than earlier this year with people in confined spaces, but still the risk is great with holidaymaker crossover in Europe. Mouth masks should still be worn in public places and social distancing respected," Van Ranst commented.
STEPS COUNTRIES CAN TAKE TO PREVENT COVID-19'S RESURGENCE
Apart from urging citizens to wear facial coverings in public and take all the necessary sanitary precautions, governments across Europe have also looked to create contact tracing applications in order to notify citizens if they have come encountered people who have tested positive for the disease.
In Germany, software company SAP and Deutsche Telekom have worked together to produce a cellular application, which experts have said has been successful since launching.
Other countries have had less bountiful results. In France, roughly 1.9 million people, just three percent of the population, have installed the government's coronavirus disease tracker. The launch of the UK government's application has been farcical; plagued by delays and unfulfilled promises.
One major issue, particularly as countries open their borders, is that these separate applications, produced by different governments, are not interlinked. Consequently, community transmission may be more pronounced between foreign travelers from different countries.
In addition to contact tracing, citizens across the continent can take vital steps to limit their chances of becoming infected. According to Van Ranst, ensuring that rooms are well ventilated can have a major impact on preventing the spread of COVID-19.
"Good ventilation is very important to prevent a further spread of the coronavirus, especially in areas where many people gather ... While it has not yet been clearly established how well the SARS-CoV-2 virus can spread through the air, the aerosol virus remains viable for at least three hours and there are increasing suspicions of contamination by this route in certain circumstances. Ventilation of rooms must be taken into account in order to reduce the risk of air transfer," the academic said.
When entering confined spaces such as airplanes, Ruelle said that people should ensure that they wear masks to help lower the risk of infection.
"Care should be taken to avoid large gatherings. Wearing a mask is good protection when entering a confined space such as an airplane. The temperature control at airports is not protection, but only screens passengers," Ruelle remarked.
Since the start of the outbreak, more than 1.5 million of the 9.5 million coronavirus disease cases reported worldwide have been identified in countries of the European Union, European Economic Area, and the United Kingdom, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The death figures are even starker, as 176,020 of the global 489,182 deaths resulting from complications related to COVID-19 have been reported in Europe, the ECDC has confirmed.
Europe may no longer be the global epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak at this moment of time, as the disease continues to spread rapidly in North America and South America. However, there is a real concern that COVID-19 could return to Europe with a vengeance if governments and citizens fail to remain vigilant.
