(Bloomberg) -- Europe is once again resorting to lockdowns and imposing restrictions on the unvaccinated to stem the latest wave of Covid-19 infections that threatens to overwhelm the continent’s health systems.
The situation, a dramatic reversal from just a few months ago, is turning into a race against time as hospital wards fill up and infections explode in countries like Germany and neighboring Austria. But governments are responding at different speeds and different rates of intensity, with some essentially abandoning any hope that crackdowns can be limited to the unvaccinated, while others rush to administer booster shots.
The staggering rise in hospitalizations, the record levels of infections of recent days and the inability of health officials to get millions of people to take their Covid shots is leaving authorities resorting to methods that many only recently insisted would never be used again.
Here’s a summary of the latest restrictions that countries across Europe have put in place in the past few days:
Austria
Austria will enter a nationwide lockdown starting Monday that will last for at least 20 days. That decision, announced Friday, came only days after the government had raised eyebrows by imposing a lockdown merely on the unvaccinated. But with only two-thirds of Austrians fully inoculated, that policy isn’t enough to stop the record surge in infections and quickly deteriorating situation in the country’s hospitals, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said Friday.
The country, then, will now also require residents to inoculate against Covid from February in one of the most stringent measures to boost vaccine takeup in the world. “There are too many among us who haven’t shown solidarity,” Schallenberg said. “Raising the vaccination rate is the only way to break this vicious circle.”
Germany
Germany can no longer rule out imposing a national lockdown, Health Minister Jens Spahn acknowledged Friday.
Until now, leaders have sought to avoid that, hoping to control the explosion of cases by ratcheting up the pressure on the country’s 15 million unvaccinated adults. To that end, officials on Thursday night introduced rules that -- in areas with high hospitalization rates -- restrict restaurants, bars and public events to people who’ve received their Covid shots or recovered from the disease. Public transit is now only available to unvaccinated individuals if they get a negative Covid test first.
Still, the policies may not be enough. Hospitals across Germany are already overwhelmed and the situation will only deteriorate in coming weeks because of the record infections reported in recent days. The Robert Koch Institute public health authority is calling for all Germans to immediately reduce their contacts with others as much as possible.
In Munich and other towns across the country, there will be no Christmas markets in the city center for the second year in a row. Smaller markets are still possible, for now, for the vaccinated, provided they bring a negative test result.
The Netherlands
The country entered a partial lockdown last weekend, with bars and restaurants required to shut down effective from 8 p.m. local time. Non-essential shops must close at 6 p.m. The majority of coronavirus patients that end up in Dutch hospital have not been vaccinated. The combination of high infections, the limited amount of intensive-care beds and postponed medical treatments for other kinds of patients forced the government into what Prime Minister Mark Rutte called “drastic measures.”
France
President Emmanuel Macron said France didn’t need to single out unvaccinated people for restrictions because of the national health pass that documents a person’s status.
“Countries locking down non-vaccinated people are those that didn’t put in place the health pass,” Macron told La Voix du Nord late Thursday, referring to the obligation of showing proof of immunization or vaccination to access public venues such as bars or restaurants.
France’s outbreak has worsened recently, but not as badly as many other countries in Europe. Almost 80% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.
Belgium
The government has reinstated an obligation to work from home and extended mandatory mask-wearing to 10-year-olds. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on Wednesday said the country’s high vaccination rate is the main reason he was able to avoid imposing a new lockdown.
U.K.
Asked this week about the possibility of another lockdown this Christmas, Prime Minister Boris Johnson replied that there is nothing in the current data that signaled the need for restrictions, but warned: “clearly we cannot rule anything out.” The country was hit hard during one of the first waves, prompting a speedy vaccination drive. As the effect of those shots starts to wear off, the government is ramping up booster shots.
Portugal
A bright spot in Europe, with nearly 90% of the population vaccinated, Portugal has nonetheless seen a spike in cases in recent days. It’s introducing tougher measures on parts of the country, including the island of Madeira. There, new restrictions on unvaccinated residents and visitors are taking effect.
People who have not been vaccinated will be banned from attending public events such as concerts from Saturday, Miguel Albuquerque, the president of Madeira’s regional government, said on Thursday. Unvaccinated people are allowed to attend mass or go to the supermarket as long as they show a negative Covid-19 test.
Italy
Among the epicenters of the earlier outbreaks, Italy has relied heavily on the use of the “green pass” health certificate as well as an aggressive vaccination drive. The government is accelerating booster shots for some age groups to refresh their resistance against the latest surge in infections.
Norway
Norway’s government decided to tighten entry requirements from Nov. 26 to limit import infection, Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Emilie Enger Mehl said. Norway will also reintroduce requirements for negative testing for foreigners without corona certificate or without proof of having undergone Covid-19 in the last six months. Separately, the government asked municipalities to ensure that everyone over the age of 65 is offered a refresher dose before Christmas.
Switzerland
Switzerland’s government said on Nov. 18 that it sees no need to intensify any of the measures in place because the rate of hospitalization remains under control. The country votes on Nov. 28 whether the mandatory use of Covid-19 certificates for access to indoor spaces and events should be maintained. Polls show that a majority of people is in favor of the step, while there’s also a vocal group opposing vaccinations. Switzerland is behind many other European countries in vaccination rates, with only 66.1% fully immunized. Infections in the country of 8.5 million people have been on a steady rise since mid-October,
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