As the continent is grappling with arresting the virus in the second wave, figures show that cases in older people are rising. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) identified 13 countries with rising infections in older people.
Europe is now in the deep second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the continent races against time, experts have noticed alarming data – the number of infected elderly people is on the rise.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in its situation report mentioned that there are 13 countries, some of which have seen a significant increase on the eastern side of the continent according to CTV news.
COVID-19 situation now in Europe
The Czech Republic, Romania, Slovenia, and Hungary have seen an increase among elders ages 65 and up. The United Kingdom is already bracing for this as the Department of Health and Social Care said that the number of people ages 60 and up with COVID-19 quadrupled versus the early weeks of September.
Jonathan Van-Tham, chief medical deputy officer for England, said that the infection rate is now shifting from a younger age to an older age group. He mentioned this last week during the news conference.
“Proportion of cases in older age has been increasing,” according to The Robert Koch Institute. According to Germany’s center for disease, the rise in cases for older people was seen in early September.
In France, cases among 65 years old and above have increased threefold, according to the French health agency. Spain also noticed an increase in the age group of people who are getting the virus from 37 last August and now accelerated into 39 years old.
Stricter measures
As the continent is finding its way to suppress the spread of the virus, many countries are imposing new stricter health and safety measures across its nation. Ireland will reimpose a six-week lockdown due to the rise of reported cases.
Madrid, Spain’s capital, is now in the State of Emergency, and the government is now studying imposing a curfew across the country. The imposition of the State of Emergency in the Madrid region was made last week.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said last Monday that Wales, United Kingdom, will be on a two-week fire break lockdown starting this Friday. Meanwhile, Belgium has imposed curfew hours from 12 midnight to six in the morning.
The Czech Republic government imposed a lockdown last week, saying wearing a face mask is a must. French cities like Grenoble, Toulouse, Montpellier, Lille, Lyon, and Paris have imposed curfew hours from nine in the evening to six in the morning.
Giuseppe Conte, Italy’s Prime Minister, announces tighter measures last Sunday after a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in consecutive days. He also vested powers for Italian mayors to introduce curfew hours in their area starting at nine in the evening.
Until there is a vaccine, one way for a country to eradicate the spread is to impose such measures. Experts claim that lockdowns are a must in order to shield people who are vulnerable from getting the virus.
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