France Virus Cases Surge as Paris, London Head for Clampdown

(Bloomberg) -- Londoners will be banned from mixing with other households indoors and Paris is set for a curfew, as France and other countries post record infections, leaving leaders across Europe struggling to get the virus under control.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government mandated tighter restrictions in the U.K. capital starting this weekend, while French President Emmanuel Macron will confine residents of nine of the country’s biggest cities to their homes between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. for four weeks from Saturday. France reported a record 30,621 new positive test results on Thursday.

London Households Banned From Mixing as Rules Tightened

German, Italian and Irish daily infections also hit a record on Thursday and Spain recorded the most new cases since April. While France is imposing curfews, German Chancellor Angela Merkel implored citizens to abide by distancing rules and avoid groups, and the varied approaches around Europe to deal have caused confusion and stoked unrest amid the pandemic-weary public.

Leaders have little recourse but to tell people to knuckle down. Johnson was adamant he did not want a second lockdown but now the prospect of a so-called “circuit-breaker” with schools closed for two weeks is in the air.

From midnight on Friday, millions of residents in the U.K. capital won’t be able to socialize with other households behind closed doors, including in pubs and restaurants.

“I know these restrictions are difficult for people, I hate that we have to bring them in, but it is essential that we do bring them in both to keep people safe and to prevent greater economic damage in the future,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Parliament on Thursday.

Whack-a-Mole

Outside London, U.K. officials are also attempting to tame the virus with a regional “whack-a-mole” strategy that has created tensions with the poorer north where the number cases are rising rapidly.

The government has earmarked Manchester for the toughest restrictions, but is stuck in talks with local leaders in the northern English city over financial support. There is also disparity within the U.K. itself on the best approach.

This latest development comes as Germany, Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic all reported record increases in cases, and London approached an average of 100 infections per 100,000 people.

European authorities are grappling with how to devise targeted strategies that slow the spread of the disease without resorting to the kind of broad national lockdowns which decimated economic activity in the second quarter.

Merkel’s Top Health Official Warns Tracing Capacity Near Limits

Merkel struggled to forge a consensus with regional German leaders in a meeting that dragged on into Wednesday night. The measures agreed for hard-hit areas -- including closing bars and restaurants at 11 p.m. and extending mandatory mask wearing -- appear insufficient but still state officials argued that further curbs are unnecessary and ineffective.

“The problem is that day by day with increasing numbers our local authorities are not able any more to trace,” Health Minister Jens Spahn said Thursday during a Bloomberg webinar. “And then you lose track.”

Germany recorded 7,173 new cases in the 24 hours through Thursday morning, exceeding a high during the previous peak of the pandemic in late March.

“Economically we can’t afford a second wave” Merkel said.

European infections began a resurgence in the late summer, fueled by returning travelers and young party-goers. Local family, work and social gatherings have since spurred further contagion. On Thursday, Germany declared that that all of continental France, the entire Netherlands and all of Slovenia will be considered a coronavirus risk area from Oct. 17 onwards.

The region as a whole recorded almost 700,000 new cases last week, the most since the pandemic began, and taking the total to just below 7 million, according to the World Health Organization. Britain, France, Russia and Spain accounted for over half of all new cases.

In France, deaths increased by 88 to 33,125, according to the government health agency, and more than 40% of intensive-care beds in the Paris region are taken by Covid-19 patients. Such is the worry, that there is now the suggestion regional elections in March will be delayed.

Macron said Wednesday the situation in hospitals is “unsustainable” and the goal is to bring new cases down to 3,000 to 4,000 a day.

“We are a united nation, and we will succeed,” he said.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warned that the nation will “be in trouble again” if the rising trend persists and for the first time declined to rule out a new nationwide lockdown. In the Naples area, authorities signed a decree ordering schools to close until Oct. 30, newspaper Corriere della Sera reported. The decree also bans parties, with guests from different households.

In Spain, Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya pushed back against reports that the spread of the virus and the political tussling over how to contain it are sparking concerns in Berlin. Spain detected 6,603 coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, the biggest daily increase since April.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television, she insisted that the Spanish outbreak is “under control” and criticism of her government’s fight with the Madrid region over tighter restrictions is unfair.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.