Time running out in Covid-19 war: EU!

• 'Everyone's first priority should be to do what it takes to avoid the devastating consequences of generalised lockdowns.

The European Commission urged member nations on Thursday to step up preparations against the new surge of coronavirus infections and recommended common measures to roll out vaccines should they become available.

With new cases hitting about 100,000 daily, Europe has by a wide margin overtaken the United States, where an average of more than 51,000 Covid-19 infections is reported every day.
"Time is running out," said EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, urging greater coordination in tracing infections.

"Everyone's first priority should be to do what it takes to avoid the devastating consequences of generalised lockdowns."

She also called on EU governments to adopt a common strategy for the roll out of vaccines as soon as they become available, giving priority to inoculations for the most vulnerable people.

There is little time left for such preparations as the first such shots could be available at the beginning of next year, Kyriakides added.

The head of the World Health Organisation's Europe office said the exponential surge of coronavirus cases across Europe has warranted the restrictive measures being taken in numerous countries, making them "absolutely necessary". In a press briefing on Thursday, Dr Hans Kluge warned that even more drastic steps could be taken if the pandemic does not recede. He called for countries to be "uncompromising" in their attempts to control the virus and said most of the Covid-19 spread is happening in homes, indoor spaces and communities not complying with protection measures.

London, the world's international financial capital, was to enter a tighter lockdown from midnight on Friday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson seeks to tackle a swiftly accelerating second coronavirus wave.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said London, which has a population of nine million, as well as the adjacent, heavily populated county of Essex, would be put on "high" alert level, up from "medium", at one minute past midnight.

"Things will get worse before they get better," Hancock said.

"But I know that there are brighter skies and calmer seas ahead - that the ingenuity of science will find a way through and until then we must come together."

Italy on Thursday recorded its biggest single-day jump in infections since the start of the pandemic. It added over 8,800 cases and 83 deaths amid a resurgence that is straining the country's contact-tracing system. - Reuters, AP