According to the head of Germany’s public health department, a third outbreak of coronavirus infections has already started.
Meanwhile, Italy is officially planning another near-national lockdown over the Easter weekend in an attempt to stop the virus from spreading. The step comes just over a year after it became the first country in the world to implement national lockdown measures. It is scheduled to be signed into law on Friday.
During a news conference on Friday, Lothar Wieler, the head of the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases, told reporters, “We have clear signs: the third wave in Germany has already begun.”
“The virus is not going to disappear,” he said, “but once we have a base level of immunity in the population, we can control it.”
Wieler shared concern about the public health crisis, saying he was “very worried.” He characterized Germany’s vaccination program as a race against an ever-evolving virus but expressed optimism that the country would eventually be able to contain the virus.
Until then, Wieler stressed the importance of wearing a face mask in public and keeping a healthy distance from one another. On Thursday, the RKI reported that the number of registered Covid cases rose by 14,356 in a 24-hour span, the highest daily tally in Germany in the last two weeks. It represented a 2,444-case rise over the previous week.
The recent increase corresponds to the spread of a highly contagious strain of the virus that was first identified in the United Kingdom. The variant, identified as B.1.1.7, has been found to be responsible for over 46% of new infections worldwide.
From March 15 to April 6, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s administration met with regional governments and local authorities to discuss implementing tougher health controls, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.
As part of these steps, Italy is expected to halt the spread of the virus by declaring a “red zone” across almost the entire country from April 3 to 5, which includes Easter Sunday and Monday.
In Italy’s tiered coronavirus system, the red zone reflects the highest degree of restriction. Schools, non-essential stores, restaurants, and bars will all be closed at this stage.
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