Second COVID-19 Lockdown In France And Germany Is A Wake-Up Call For India This Festival Season
France and Germany have become the first European countries to reintroduce lockdowns as a massive second wave of coronavirus infections threatened to overwhelm Europe before the winter.
French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, ordered their countries back into lockdown on Wednesday, as the two countries recorded alarming spikes in new COVID-19 cases and deaths.
"The virus is circulating at a speed that not even the most pessimistic forecasts had anticipated," Macron said in a televised address. "Like all our neighbours, we are submerged by the sudden acceleration of the virus."
Under the new French measures which come into force on Friday, people will be required to stay in their homes except to buy essential goods, seek medical attention, or exercise for up to one hour a day. They will be permitted to go to work if their employer deems it impossible for them to do the job from home. Schools will stay open.
Germany will shut bars, restaurants and theatres from November 2-30 under measures agreed between Merkel and heads of regional governments. Schools will stay open, and shops will be allowed to operate with strict limits on access.
France has recorded more than 36,000 new cases a day. Germany, which was less hard-hit than its European neighbours early this year, has seen an exponential rise in cases too.
But what is happening in Europe is also a wake-up call for India.
Though the number of new infections has been declining in India, which is the second-worst COVID-19 affected country in the world, health experts have warned that complacency or thinking that the pandemic is over and flouting safety guidelines could result in another wave of the infection.
This is what happened in countries like France and Germany, which were eager to open up and go back to being normal after the first wave of COVID-19 was brought under control. As the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, these countries allowed all kinds of social gatherings in public, though people were advised to remain cautious.
India is going to enter a critical phase in the next few days, with Diwali and other festivals.
With this being the biggest festival season there is a growing fear that crowds gathering to celebrate the festival of lights could result in an explosion of COVID-19 infections.
Another major concern health care experts have is how a large section of society is now failing to follow COVID-19 guidelines in public, thinking that the worst of the pandemic is over.
