EUROPEAN COUNTRIES ARE scrambling to regain control over a resurgent coronavirus with booster programmes and the reintroduction of restrictions, sparking rioting in some countries.

Berlin, Paris and Lisbon were among capitals weighing tighter Covid restrictions and broader vaccination campaigns as Europe’s Covid death toll passed 1.5 million this week. 

The spiking cases see Europe re-emerge as the pandemic’s epicentre, with the continent battling sluggish vaccine uptake in some nations, the highly contagious Delta variant, colder weather sending people indoors and the easing of restrictions.

On Thursday Germany reported a record 351 Covid fatalities, taking the country’s official death toll since the start of the pandemic past 100,000. Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that “every day counts”, Merkel urged her successor government for “more contact restrictions”.

The country has had to call on hospitals elsewhere in the EU for help as some clinics face overload.

Last week the government began requiring people to prove they are vaccinated, have recovered from Covid-19 or recently tested negative before they can travel on public transport or enter workplaces.

Several of the worst-hit areas have cancelled Christmas markets and barred the unvaccinated from bars, gyms and leisure facilities.

Germany’s Covid-19 crisis has in part been blamed on its relatively low vaccination rate of about 69%, compared to other European countries even though new cases hit a seven-month high on Wednesday.

A German campaign for booster shots has been marred by supply and logistics snags.

Meanwhile in the Czech Republic, President Milos Zeman returned to hospital just hours after being released to name a new prime minister as he tested positive for Covid-19. The government has implemented a 30-day state of emergency, which includes closing Christmas markets as well as nightclubs.

Hospitals in the east of the country are reaching capacity, and some have begun moving patients across the country by helicopters and ambulances.

In Paris, Health Minister Olivier Veran said Covid-19 booster shots would be accessible to all adults starting this weekend.

From 15 January, people over 18 would need to show proof of a top-up vaccine dose to maintain a valid Covid pass, which is required to enter restaurants, bars, gyms and other public venues.

Adding pressure on member states, the EU Commission recommended that the bloc’s vaccination certificate should become invalid once the holder’s latest dose is more than nine months old.

The Irish government this week confirmed booster jabs would be given to everyone over the age of 16 and will be rolled out in age cohorts once the most vulnerable groups have received their vaccines. 

Elsewhere in Europe, the streets of the Slovak capital Bratislava were deserted as a new partial Covid lockdown came into effect.

Even Portugal, which has an 86% vaccination rate, said it would impose work from home in the New Year and close bars and discos.

New variant

With governments already struggling to cope with the more infectious Delta variant, the discovery of a new and troubling strain in South Africa was a stark reminder that the fight against Covid-19 is far from won.

The first announced case of the new B.1.1.529 variant in Europe was confirmed in Belgium yesterday in an unvaccinated person who had returned from abroad.

Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands joined Britain in announcing travel bans. The bans all included South Africa, and in many cases also some or all of the following: Botswana, Eswatini (Swaziland), Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

European Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen advised that member states should suspend all air travel to southern African countries linked with variant, and that travellers from those countries should be subject to “strict quarantine requirements”.

The WHO said it was “closely monitoring” the variant and weighing whether it should be designated a variant of “interest” or of “concern”.

Protests

Police in the Netherlands are preparing for possible riots again this weekend as new restrictions came in yesterday.

The country’s partial Covid lockdown means the early closure of bars, restaurants and shops. 

Hospitals will also cancel planned operations to free up beds as cases surge to record levels of over 20,000 infections a day, despite the fact 85% of Dutch adults are vaccinated.

Schools will stay open, despite the fact that the largest rise in infections is among children, but pupils from age 10 must wear masks.

The announcement of new restrictions risks inflaming a tense situation in the country after four nights of unrest, particularly in the port city of Rotterdam where five rioters were shot by police.

“We are keeping our eyes and ears open and we are prepared,” Rotterdam police spokesman Gijs van Nimwegen told AFP.

“We hope things stay calm in Rotterdam and the rest of the Netherlands.”

- With reporting by Michelle Hennessy.